Law Commons^™

The Minimalist Alternative To Abolitionism: Focusing On The Non-Dangerous Many, Christopher Slobogin Professor Of Law

Vanderbilt Law Review

In "The Dangerous Few: Taking Seriously Prison Abolition and Its Skeptics," published in the Harvard Law Review, Thomas Frampton proffers four reasons why those who want to abolish prisons should not budge from their position even for offenders who are considered dangerous. This Essay demonstrates why a criminal law minimalist approach to prisons and police is preferable to abolition, not just when dealing with the dangerous few but also as a means of protecting the non-dangerous many. A minimalist regime can radically reduce reliance on both prisons and police, without the loss in crime prevention capacity and legitimacy that is …

Historicizing The War(S) On Drugs Across National (And Disciplanary) Borders, Sara Mayeux

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Notwithstanding the title, The War on Drugs: A History, this illuminating book is not "a" history of "the" War on Drugs but an edited collection with a sampling of new research into the intertwined histories of drug regulation and criminalization, deregulation and decriminalization, both in the United States and around the world. To use the parlance of Jotwell, I like this book a lot.

But I am also writing this Jot because I worry that the title may mislead legal scholars into thinking that this is only a book for historians of criminal law or scholars of the "carceral state." …

The Origins Of Back-End Sentencing In California: A Dispatch From The Archives, Sara Mayeux

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

In recent years, policy analysts have generated a small body of literature about the practice of "back-end sentencing," observing that California uses parole revocation in lieu of criminal prosecution for a surprisingly high number of cases, including many that would otherwise be considered serious crimes. Some of these offenders may be getting away with far shorter sentences than if their conduct were prosecuted criminally. Surely others are being railroaded into serving time for charges of which they could never be convicted beyond a reasonable doubt. And many are being cycled in and out of prison on fairly minor violations for …

Subpoenas And Privacy, Christopher Slobogin

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This symposium article, the first of two on regulation of government's efforts to obtain paper and digital records of our activities, analyzes the constitutional legitimacy of subpoenas. Whether issued by a grand jury or an administrative agency, subpoenas are extremely easy to enforce, merely requiring the government to demonstrate that the items sought pursuant to the subpoena are "relevant" to a investigation. Yet today subpoenas and pseudo-subpoenas are routinely used not only to obtain business records and the like, but also documents containing significant amounts of personal information about individuals, including medical, financial, and email records. Part I provides an …

The Need For An International Criminal Court In The New International World Order, M. Cherif Bassiouni, Christopher L. Blakesley

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, Professors Bassiouni and Blakesley argue that the institution of an international criminal court would provide an effective means of dealing with international problems that are created by or unaddressed in a unilateral or bilateral international system. Rather than deflecting domestic concentration on law enforcement, the proposed tribunal will be a complementary and incremental effort, which will enhance criminal justice enforcement. The authors address several questions concerning the implementation of the tribunal, including questions related to sovereignty and bases for jurisdiction, which crimes will be within the court's jurisdiction, which law will apply to the cases, and practical …

The Ker-Frisbie Doctrine: A Jurisdictional Weapon In The War On Drugs, Andrew B. Campbell

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note addresses the ongoing use of extra legal apprehension, as applied under "Ker v. Illinois" and "Frisbie v. Collins," as a viable alternative to extradition in obtaining custody over those accused of exporting drugs to the United States. The author outlines the cultural and political reasons for the production of illicit drugs, examines the purposes and structures of formal extradition treaties and their effectiveness in bringing drug traffickers to trial, and considers the alternatives to formal extradition. The author concludes that extralegal apprehension, in both of its two forms--abduction and irregular rendition--should remain an alternative means of securing custody …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Criminal Law--Habeas Corpus-State Prison Regulation Prohibiting Prisoner from Preparing Petition for Fellow Inmates Held Invalid in Absence of Alternative Means of Assistance

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Securities Regulation--Corporation as a Director for the Purposes of Section 16(b) of the 1934 Securities Exchange Act

Federal Habeas Corpus And The State Court Criminal Defendant, Frank W. Wilson

Vanderbilt Law Review

Federal habeas corpus for state prisoners is one of the most controversial and emotion-ridden subjects in the entire field of criminal law. Considering the period over which this controversy has continued, it is surely one of the oldest unresolved disputes between the state and federal courts. The removal of an action from a state to a federal court may sometimes cause ruffled feelings, but few judges remain long offended at being relieved of trying a lawsuit. On the other hand, when a federal judge reverses a state judge who has been affirmed by the state appellate courts, forcing him to …

Criminal Law Administration Prior To Trial: Recent Constitutional Developments, Paul H. Sanders

Vanderbilt Law Review

Probably the most pervasive dilemma in human experience is that which poses the choice with respect to the use of normally-condemned means in order to attain what are considered to be desirable ends. The field of criminal law administration offers a particularly apt illustration of the dilemma in modern society. The actual, day-to-day methods of operation of our law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges and other officials concerned with the investigation, trial and punishment of those charged with crime,--all reflect the choice that has been made in fact by our society. We can each judge, within the limits of our experience, …