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Full-Text Articles in Law
Decarceration’S Blindspots, John F. Pfaff
Decarceration’S Blindspots, John F. Pfaff
Faculty Scholarship
For over a decade, my research has focused on trying to answer one simple question: how did the United States, home to about 5% of the world’s population, come to house nearly 25% of its prisoners?1 We were not always the world’s largest jailer; as recently as the 1970s, our incarceration rate was largely indistinguishable from those in other liberal democracies. Yet starting in the mid-1970s, as Figure 1 shows, that rate started to slowly—but steadily and relentlessly—grow, until by the late 2000s it rivaled and then surpassed even the rates seen in autocratic countries like Cuba and Belarus and …
Foreword: Critical Race Theory And Empirical Methods Conference, Kimani Paul-Emile
Foreword: Critical Race Theory And Empirical Methods Conference, Kimani Paul-Emile
Fordham Law Review
Everyone seems to be talking about race. From the protests that erupted in cities across the country over the failure of grand juries in Missouri and New York to indict police officers in the killing of two unarmed black men, to the racially charged statements made by the owners of professional sports teams; and the college fraternity members captured on film singing a racist lynching song; race exploded into the nation’s collective consciousness. Even the Starbucks Coffee chain’s recent “Race Together” campaign, intended to promote discussion about race, sparked a controversy and was quickly withdrawn. These and other events have …
Police Racial Violence: Lessons From Social Psychology, L. Song Richardson
Police Racial Violence: Lessons From Social Psychology, L. Song Richardson
Fordham Law Review
The recent rash of police killing unarmed black men has brought national attention to the persistent problem of policing and racial violence. These cases include the well-known and highly controversial death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, as well as the deaths of twelve-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio; Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York; John Crawford III in Beavercreek, Ohio; Ezell Ford in Los Angeles, California; Dante Parker in San Bernardino County, California; and Vonderrit D. Myers Jr. in St. Louis, Missouri. Data reported to the FBI indicate that white police officers killed black citizens almost twice a …
When Is Fear For One's Life Race-Gendered? An Intersectional Analysis Of The Bureau Of Immigration Appeals's In Re A-R-C-G- Decision, Ange-Marie Hancock
When Is Fear For One's Life Race-Gendered? An Intersectional Analysis Of The Bureau Of Immigration Appeals's In Re A-R-C-G- Decision, Ange-Marie Hancock
Fordham Law Review
In August 2014, the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) handed down a breakthrough decision, In re A-R-C-G-, permitting courts to consider domestic violence as a gendered form of persecution in a home country and thus grounds for asylum in the United States. Along with two other 2014 decisions, In re W-G-R- and In re M-E-V-G-, this case represented a marked shift from prior BIA decisions, which for fifteen years had interpreted sections 208(a) and 241(b)(3) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act more narrowly, thus excluding claims of home country abuse as reasonable grounds to grant asylum. Specifically, …
Taking A Stand?: An Initial Assessment Of The Social And Racial Effects Of Recent Innovation In Self-Defense Laws, Mario L. Barnes
Taking A Stand?: An Initial Assessment Of The Social And Racial Effects Of Recent Innovation In Self-Defense Laws, Mario L. Barnes
Fordham Law Review
Perhaps, not surprisingly, the controversy over the rise of self-defense reforms in the United States that have come to be known as ―Stand Your Ground‖ (SYG) laws, began with a story about colors. This Article principally applies an empirical method and critical race theory (eCRT) lens to explore whether these reformed statutes, which generally have authorized greater use of force within the context of self-defense, deter crime and differentially affect Whites, Blacks, and other racial groups.
What Real-World Criminal Cases Tell Us About Genetics Evidence, Deborah W. Denno
What Real-World Criminal Cases Tell Us About Genetics Evidence, Deborah W. Denno
Faculty Scholarship
This Article, which is part of a symposium on "Law and Ethics at the Frontier of Genetic Technology," examines an unprecedented experimental study published in Science. The Science study indicated that psychopathic criminal offenders were more likely to receive lighter sentences if a judge was aware of genetic and neurobiological explanations for the offender’s psychopathy. This Article contends that the study’s conclusions derive from substantial flaws in the study’s design and methodology. The hypothetical case upon which the study is based captures just one narrow and unrepresentative component of how genetic and neurobiological information operates, and the study suffers from …
The Micro And Macro Causes Of Prison Growth, John F. Pfaff
The Micro And Macro Causes Of Prison Growth, John F. Pfaff
Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology, And The Criminal Justice System, Deborah W. Denno
Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology, And The Criminal Justice System, Deborah W. Denno
Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Criminal Justice And The Challenge Of Family Ties, Dan Markel, Ethan J. Leib
Criminal Justice And The Challenge Of Family Ties, Dan Markel, Ethan J. Leib
Faculty Scholarship
This Article asks two basic questions: When does, and when should, the state use the criminal justice apparatus to accommodate family ties, responsibilities, and interests? We address these questions by first revealing a variety of laws that together form a string of family ties subsidies and benefits pervading the criminal justice system. Notwithstanding our recognition of the important role family plays in securing the conditions for human flourishing, we then explain the basis for erecting a Spartan presumption against these family ties subsidies and benefits within the criminal justice system. We delineate the scope and rationale for the presumption and …
The Scientific Shortcomings Of Roper V. Simmons, Deborah W. Denno
The Scientific Shortcomings Of Roper V. Simmons, Deborah W. Denno
Faculty Scholarship
This Article contends that some of the case law and social science research that form the basis for the United States Supreme Court's decision in Roper v. Simmons are insufficient and outdated. The Court also relies heavily upon briefs submitted by the respondent and his amici, in lieu of providing more pertinent citations and analysis that could have enhanced and modernized the Court's arguments. The sparse and sometimes archaic sources for Roper potentially limit the opinion's precedential value. For example, the Court cites Erik Erikson's 1968 book, Identity: Youth and Crisis, to support the view that, relative to adults, juveniles …
Criminal Law In A Post-Freudian World, Deborah W. Denno
Criminal Law In A Post-Freudian World, Deborah W. Denno
Faculty Scholarship
Freudian psychoanalytic theory has greatly influenced the modern definition of criminal culpability. Indeed, much of the language of key criminal statutes, cases, and psychiatric testimony is framed by psychoanalytic concepts. This impact is particularly evident in the Model Penal Code's mens rea provisions and defenses, which were developed in the 1950s and 1960s, a time of Freudian reign in the United States. For contemporary criminal law, however, this degree of psychoanalytic presence is troublesome. Freudian theory is difficult to apply to group conflicts and legal situations, and the theory emphasizes unconscious (rather than conscious) thoughts. The rising new science of …
Crime And Consciousness: Science And Involuntary Acts , Deborah W. Denno
Crime And Consciousness: Science And Involuntary Acts , Deborah W. Denno
Faculty Scholarship
This Article confronts this clash between legal and scientific perspectives on consciousness by proposing new ways to structure the voluntary act requirement so that it incorporates the insights of modern science on the human mind. Part I examines the criminal law's voluntary act requirement, particularly in the context of the MPC's influential provision, which reflects the law and psychology of the era in which the MPC was originally developed--the 1950s. Part II analyzes the new science of “consciousness,” a term that typically refers to the sum of a person's thoughts, feelings, and sensations, as well as the everyday circumstances and …
New Strategies For Combatting Crime In New York City, William J. Bratton
New Strategies For Combatting Crime In New York City, William J. Bratton
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Lecture by the Commissioner of the New York Police Department. Remarks focused on why crime came down in New York City. It traces the history of policing before the 1970s, when police departments began to professionalize and the advent of community policing in the 1990s.
Gender, Crime, And The Criminal Law Defenses, Deborah W. Denno
Gender, Crime, And The Criminal Law Defenses, Deborah W. Denno
Faculty Scholarship
This Article attempts to explain some of the disparity in criminality between males and females by analyzing the results of the “Biosocial Study,” one of this country's largest longitudinal studies of biological, psychological, and sociological predictors of crime. Section II analyzes the literature and research on gender differences in crime. Section III describes the Biosocial Study and its results, noting the gender differences in the prevalence and prediction of crime and the inability of any one factor to be a strong predictor of crime. Section IV considers whether gender differences warrant disparate types of punishment or treatment within the criminal …
Human Biology And Criminal Responsibility: Free Will Of Free Ride ?, Deborah W. Denno
Human Biology And Criminal Responsibility: Free Will Of Free Ride ?, Deborah W. Denno
Faculty Scholarship
This Comment presents three major arguments concerning biological deficiency defenses, using, respectively, a critique of biosocial science research, a statistical model of biological and sociological data, and an examination of theories and philosophies on causation and behavior. First, this Comment argues that there should be no defense to mitigate criminal responsibility except in the less that one percent of cases eligible for the insanity defense. Second, this Comment argues that social science research has not successfully demonstrated sufficiently strong links between biological factors and criminal behavior to warrant major consideration in determining criminal responsibility. Third, this Comment demonstrates that no …
Criminal Law--Rape--Cautionary Instruction In Sex Offense Trial Relating Prosecutrix's Credibility To The Nature Of The Crime Charged Is No Longer Mandatory; Discretionary Use Is Disapproved
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Defendant was convicted of rape, oral copulation, and attempted sodomy in Superior Court, Los Angeles County. The case against him rested predominantly on the testimony of his adult victim, partially corroborated as to identity by a scratch on defendant’s forehead, and further substantiated by defendant’s “if I did it I was drunk” admission to the police. The defendant appealed alleging error by the trial judge for failing to give a mandatory cautionary instruction. The California Supreme Court held that because the defendant was entitled to the cautionary instruction the trial judge had committed error in refusing to give it. Such …
The Juvenile Offender - Where Can We Send Him?
The Juvenile Offender - Where Can We Send Him?
Fordham Urban Law Journal
There is an increased problem in American society regarding juvenile delinquents. Persons less than 16 years of age cannot be adjudicated criminals and nearly 80% of persons convicted of serious crimes a adults were previous convicted of a lesser offense. However, these criminals were only previously considered juvenile delinquents and not adjudicated criminals. Rehabilitation has been the main focus when dealing with juvenile delinquency and juvenile courts have operated under the theory of 'best interests of the child' and 'parens patriae'. Unfortunately, family court hearings used to determine juvenile delinquency now contain the stigma of criminal proceedings rendering the theory …
Crime Victims' Compensation- Title I Of The Proposed Victims Of Crime Act Of 1973: An Analysis
Crime Victims' Compensation- Title I Of The Proposed Victims Of Crime Act Of 1973: An Analysis
Fordham Urban Law Journal
This comment analyzes and explains the major provisions of Title I of the proposed Victims of Crime Act of 1973, proposed federal legislation to compensate victims of criminal acts. The comment discusses the scope of compensation, limitations and requirements for recovery, and procedures for the disposition of claims.