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SelectedWorks

Evidence

2009

Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Law

Evidence In International Criminal Trials: Lessons And Contributions From The Special Court For Sierra Leone, Patrick Matthew Hassan-Morlai Nov 2009

Evidence In International Criminal Trials: Lessons And Contributions From The Special Court For Sierra Leone, Patrick Matthew Hassan-Morlai

Patrick Matthew Hassan-Morlai

The general aim of this paper is to contribute to the discourse on the development of a system of international criminal justice. In so doing, this paper will pay attention to one aspect – rules of evidence – and examine its role in ensuring the rights to fair trial. The examination is limited to discussing offences relating to the jurisdiction ratione materiae of the SCSL contained in Articles 2-5 of the SCSL Statute.

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Quantifying Reasonable Doubt, Harry D. Saunders Sep 2009

Quantifying Reasonable Doubt, Harry D. Saunders

Harry D. Saunders

This presentation makes the case for quantifying the reasonable doubt standard of proof in common law.

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Recent Private International Law Developments Before The Supreme Court Of Canada, Antonin I. Pribetic Mar 2009

Recent Private International Law Developments Before The Supreme Court Of Canada, Antonin I. Pribetic

Antonin I. Pribetic

A trilogy of interesting cases involving private international law recently wended their way to the Supreme Court of Canada: (1) King v. Drabinsky (an Ontario case addressing the applicability of the Charter in respect of the enforcement of a foreign judgment); (2) Teck Cominco Metals Ltd. v. Lloyd's Underwriters (a British Columbia case involving declaratory relief in the context of parallel proceedings and forum non conveniens); and (3) Yugraneft v. Rexx Management Corporation (an Alberta case which affirmed that the two-year limitation period under s.3 of Alberta's Limitations Act, governs when a party seeks the recognition and enforcement in Alberta …

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Happiness And Punishment (With J. Bronsteen & J. Masur), Christopher J. Buccafusco Jan 2009

Happiness And Punishment (With J. Bronsteen & J. Masur), Christopher J. Buccafusco

Christopher J. Buccafusco

This article continues our project to apply groundbreaking new literature on the behavioral psychology of human happiness to some of the most deeply analyzed questions in law. Here we explain that the new psychological understandings of happiness interact in startling ways with the leading theories of criminal punishment. Punishment theorists, both retributivist and utilitarian, have failed to account for human beings' ability to adapt to changed circumstances, including fines and (surprisingly) imprisonment. At the same time, these theorists have largely ignored the severe hedonic losses brought about by the post-prison social and economic deprivations (unemployment, divorce, and disease) caused by …

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Counsel And Confrontation, Todd E. Pettys Jan 2009

Counsel And Confrontation, Todd E. Pettys

Todd E. Pettys

Responding to the Court’s recent reworking of its confrontation jurisprudence, I argue that, under the Anglo-American common-law principles that the Confrontation Clause now incorporates, defendants are not entitled to an attorney’s assistance when interrogating witnesses prior to trial. Although the Assistance of Counsel Clause and the Due Process Clauses will pick up the slack in many cases, I contend that there are other instances in which the Constitution now leaves unrepresented defendants responsible for cross-examining witnesses on their own. I suggest that legislative reform may be necessary to ameliorate the new constitutional landscape’s deficiencies.

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"Tradition": A Buzzword As Evidence In Maritime And Common Law, Graydon S. Staring Jan 2009

"Tradition": A Buzzword As Evidence In Maritime And Common Law, Graydon S. Staring

Graydon S. Staring

Tradition is generally supposed to have no significance in law apart from family and community beliefs about pedigrees and boundaries. It has none of the objective qualifications of custom or even of usage and has been carefully distinguished from both. Its appearance in maritime cases as a synonym for one or both prompted the author to survey its use for a half century, limited to maritime cases because of the ease of doing so in that compact group and the assumption that the results would be representative of practice in the federal and state courts broadly. A remarkable number are …

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Recognition Of Overseas Same Sex Marriages: A Matter Of Equality And Sound Statutory Interpretation, Dr Leonardo J. Raznovich Jan 2009

Recognition Of Overseas Same Sex Marriages: A Matter Of Equality And Sound Statutory Interpretation, Dr Leonardo J. Raznovich

Dr Leonardo J Raznovich

It is accepted that the institution of marriage is more than economic benefits. The availability of marriage to same sex couples in eight western democratic jurisdictions exerts pressure on courts to consider the substance and ethical dimension of marriage across borders. This paper analyses the legal and ethical problems that exclusion of same sex couples from marriage generates in relation to equality and individual freedoms in a democratic society. The paper focuses on the particular case of overseas same sex married couples that seek to immigrate to England. Part I analyses the legal recognition of overseas same sex marriages under …

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Full Faith And Credit In The Early Congress, Stephen E. Sachs Jan 2009

Full Faith And Credit In The Early Congress, Stephen E. Sachs

Stephen E. Sachs

After more than 200 years, the Full Faith and Credit Clause remains poorly understood. The Clause first issues a self-executing command (that "Full Faith and Credit shall be given"), and then empowers Congress to prescribe the manner of proof and the "Effect" of state records in other states. But if states must accord each other full faith and credit-and if nothing could be more than full-then what "Effect" could Congress give state records that they wouldn't have already? And conversely, how could Congress in any way reduce or alter the faith and credit that is due? This Article seeks to …

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Twenty-First Century Forensic Science Challenges For Trial Judges In Criminal Cases: Where The "Polybutadiene" Meets The "Bitumen", Hon. Donald E. Shelton Jan 2009

Twenty-First Century Forensic Science Challenges For Trial Judges In Criminal Cases: Where The "Polybutadiene" Meets The "Bitumen", Hon. Donald E. Shelton

Hon. Donald E. Shelton

This artice discusses the challenges faced by trial judges in crimnal cases in fulfilling their Daubert "gatekeeping" role in the face of rapid advancements in forensic science. Admissibility questions for various forms of scientific evidence are reviewed, from DNA to fingerprints to social science "syndrome" evidence. The article discusses the pretrial issues presented by DNA databases, search issues and limitations problems as well as the impact of forensic science developments on juror expectations. Finally, forensic science issues regarding trial conduct are discussed, including voir dire, arguments and jury instructions,

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