Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Institution
- File Type
Articles 1 - 9 of 9
Full-Text Articles in Law
The Modern History Of Probable Cause, Wesley Oliver
The Modern History Of Probable Cause, Wesley Oliver
Wesley M Oliver
It is frequently assumed that probable cause, roughly as we understand it today, has, since time immemorial, been the standard allowing an officer to search or arrest. The reality is that probable cause has change a lot since the Bill of Rights was drafted. In the mid-nineteenth century, probable cause was no more than a pleading requirement in criminal cases -- and never has been more than a pleading requirement in criminal cases. Victims of crimes alone were able to seek arrest or search warrants by swearing that they had suffered an injury and that they had probable cause to …
Material Witness Detentions After Al-Kidd, Wesley M. Oliver
Material Witness Detentions After Al-Kidd, Wesley M. Oliver
Wesley M Oliver
The Supreme Court’s decision in Ashcroft v. al-Kidd was a tempest in a teapot. The Court concluded only that a witness was no less susceptible to arrest under the Federal Material Witness Statute if the government was interested in prosecuting the witness himself. Unremarkably under the holding, it is no more difficult to detain an al-Qaeda member who witnessed a crime than it is to detain an innocent bystander who witnessed a crime. The fact that a criminal suspect can be held, however, raises concerns beyond the scope of the narrow question before the Court. If the government’s real interest …
Brief Of Amicus Curiae Wesley Macneil Oliver In Support Of The Petition For Writ Of Certiorari, Wesley Oliver
Brief Of Amicus Curiae Wesley Macneil Oliver In Support Of The Petition For Writ Of Certiorari, Wesley Oliver
Wesley M Oliver
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held that a lawsuit could proceed against John Ashcroft in his individual capacity for the way he detained material witnesses after the Terror of September 11, 2001. Ashcroft allegedly used those he believed to be terrorist suspects as material witnesses when he lacked adequate suspicion to bring formal charges. All of these “witnesses” otherwise qualified for detention under the federal material witness detention statute. The Ninth Circuit concluded that this “pretextual” use of the material witness detention statute clearly violated the Fourth Amendment as it circumvented the probable cause …
The Neglected History Of Criminal Procedure, 1850-1940, Wesley M. Oliver
The Neglected History Of Criminal Procedure, 1850-1940, Wesley M. Oliver
Wesley M Oliver
Originalism has focused the attention of courts and academics on Framing Era history to interpret constitutional limits on police conduct. Previously unexplored sources reveal, however, that Framing Era limits on officers were expressly abandoned as professional police forces were created in the mid-nineteenth century and charged with aggressively investigating and preventing crime. The modern scheme of judicially supervised police investigations was then implemented after corruption and scandals of the 1920s. The development of modern criminal procedure has a rich historical background, but it has almost nothing to do with the events of the Framing Era.
Portland, Prohibition And Probable Cause: Maine's Role In Shaping Modern Criminal Procedure, Wesley M. Oliver
Portland, Prohibition And Probable Cause: Maine's Role In Shaping Modern Criminal Procedure, Wesley M. Oliver
Wesley M Oliver
At the time the Constitution was written, police officers had very little power. In most cases they were required to wait for a complaint from a victim to arrest, or a warrant from a magistrate to perform a search of any kind. Victims had extraordinary discretion in this era. Generally, only victims could seek arrest or search warrants and they were required only to allege that they had probable cause to support the arrest or search they sought. In most cases, an officer could not obtain a warrant even if he could provide the facts supporting his suspicions. Warrantless arrests …
Magistrates’ Examinations, Police Interrogations, And Miranda—Like Warnings In The Nineteenth Century, Wesley M. Oliver
Magistrates’ Examinations, Police Interrogations, And Miranda—Like Warnings In The Nineteenth Century, Wesley M. Oliver
Wesley M Oliver
The New York legislature in the early-nineteenth century began to require interrogators to warn suspects of their right to silence and counsel. The Warren Court, in Miranda v. Arizona, did not invent the language of the warnings; rather, it resurrected the warnings that were no longer given in New York after the latter half of the nineteenth century. The confessions rule, a judicially created rule of evidence much like the modern voluntariness rule, excluded many statements if any threat or inducement was made to the suspect. Courts in the early-nineteenth century, however, were willing to accept confessions notwithstanding an improper …
The Rise And Fall Of Material Witness Detention In Nineteenth Century New York, Wesley M. Oliver
The Rise And Fall Of Material Witness Detention In Nineteenth Century New York, Wesley M. Oliver
Wesley M Oliver
No abstract provided.
A Round Peg In A Square Hole: Federal Forfeiture Of State Professional Licenses, Wesley Oliver
A Round Peg In A Square Hole: Federal Forfeiture Of State Professional Licenses, Wesley Oliver
Wesley M Oliver
No abstract provided.
With An Evil Eye And An Unequal Hand: Pretextual Stops And Doctrinal Remedies To Racial Profiling, Wesley Oliver
With An Evil Eye And An Unequal Hand: Pretextual Stops And Doctrinal Remedies To Racial Profiling, Wesley Oliver
Wesley M Oliver
No abstract provided.