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Sentencing By Ambush: An Insider's Perspective On Plea Bargaining Reform, Justice Michael P. Donnelly
Sentencing By Ambush: An Insider's Perspective On Plea Bargaining Reform, Justice Michael P. Donnelly
Akron Law Review
The vast majority of cases in our state criminal justice system are resolved not by proceeding to trial but through negotiated plea agreements. These are contracts between the government and the accused in which both sides are negotiating for some form of benefit in the ultimate resolution. In this article, Justice Donnelly exposes what he sees as a flaw in the system in the manner in which trial court judges oversee this process of negotiation. In a significant number of cases, the state induces defendants to enter into a guilty plea with no certain sentence, amounting to an illusory agreement …
Book Review: James Duane, You Have The Right To Remain Innocent: What Police Officers Tell Their Children About The Fifth Amendment, Cecily J. Mullins
Book Review: James Duane, You Have The Right To Remain Innocent: What Police Officers Tell Their Children About The Fifth Amendment, Cecily J. Mullins
ConLawNOW
In this essay, the student author reviews the book You Have the Right to Remain Innocent by James Duane, which emphasizes the inherent risks of speaking to the police, regardless of whether or not you have something to hide.
Fighting Collateral Sanctions One Statute At A Time: Addressing The Inadequacy Of Child Endangerment Statutes And How They Affect The Employment Aspirations Of Criminal Offenders, Sarah Wetzel
Akron Law Review
In an age where one in four adult Americans has a criminal record, post-conviction relief measures and review of criminal statutes is on the rise. This Comment addresses the inadequacy of current child endangerment statutes around the country by providing examples of those which are too broad and result in convictions of well-meaning parents and those which are too narrow and allow other parents to harm their children without repercussion. It then places these statutes in the context of collateral sanctions that are imposed on individuals with child endangerment convictions, particularly those related to employment and professional licensing.
Plea Bargaining As Dialogue, Rinat Kitai-Sangero
Plea Bargaining As Dialogue, Rinat Kitai-Sangero
Akron Law Review
This Article proposes turning plea bargaining into a dialogical process, which would result in lessening a defendant’s sense of alienation during the progress of the criminal justice procedure. This Article argues that plea bargaining constitutes an opportunity to circumvent restrictions existing during a trial or outside a trial, such as the inadmissibility of character evidence and the need for the victim's consent in restorative justice proceedings. This Article proposes to navigate the plea bargaining process in a way that creates a real dialogue with defendants. Such a dialogue can reduce the sense of alienation that defendants feel from their position …
Justice Blackmun And Criminal Justice: A Modest Overview, Stephen L. Wasby
Justice Blackmun And Criminal Justice: A Modest Overview, Stephen L. Wasby
Akron Law Review
Justice Harry A. Blackmun was nominated for a position on the Supreme Court in 1970 by President Richard M. Nixon after the Senate rejected Nixon's nominations of Judges Clement Haynsworth and G. Harrold Carswell. Blackmun, as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit for eleven years, had written opinions that reflected "judicial restraint, an appreciation for the limits of judicial authority and deference to state and legislative prerogatives" as well as conservatism on defendants' rights and civil liberties issues. These strains of thought made him attractive to a president looking for someone supporting the "war …