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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 …
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 …
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 …
Victim, Offender, And Situational Characteristics Of Violent Crime, Deborah W. Denno
Victim, Offender, And Situational Characteristics Of Violent Crime, Deborah W. Denno
Faculty Scholarship
The examination of offenses rather than offenders in past research often overlooked the importance of offender characteristics and background. Indeed, a growing body of research suggests that the biological or psychological characteristics of offenders may strongly influence the outcome of particular encounters or future offense behavior. For instance, offenders with poor verbal ability or low school achievement scores may be more prone to repeat confrontational violence, irrespective of the characteristics of the victim or the situation of the offense. Thus, it is important to distinguish between those offenders with short or repeat offense histories, and those offenses which do or …