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Full-Text Articles in Law
Section 6: Criminal Law, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Section 6: Criminal Law, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School
Supreme Court Preview
No abstract provided.
But Did They Listen? The New Jersey Death Penalty Commission's Exercise In Abolitionism: A Detailed Reply, Robert Blecker
But Did They Listen? The New Jersey Death Penalty Commission's Exercise In Abolitionism: A Detailed Reply, Robert Blecker
Articles & Chapters
Based upon the nearly unanimous recommendation of its Death Penalty Study Commission, New Jersey seems poised to become the first state in the modern era to legislatively abolish capital punishment and substitute life without parole. Hailed nationally and internationally as thoughtful and fair, the Commission's final report consistently distorts the evidence, displays an anti-retributive bias, and worst of all, ignores basic well-established perspectives framing the great debate, avoiding at all costs the question of justice.
Unbalanced and biased, the Commission does not even consider any alternative to abolition or standing pat. This essay directly engages the Report on its findings …
The Legal Profession's Failure To Discipline Unethical Prosecutors, Angela J. Davis
The Legal Profession's Failure To Discipline Unethical Prosecutors, Angela J. Davis
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
This article explores the legal profession's failure to hold prosecutors accountable for misconduct and other ethical violations. Part I introduces the piece, providing several examples of prosecutorial power and abuse in the criminal justice system. Part II discusses prosecutorial misconduct and the inadequacy of current legal remedies. Part III argues that the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility have not provided adequate guidance to prosecutors, and that the disciplinary process has not been effective in disciplining prosecutors when they have abused their power and discretion. Part IV contends that the disbarment of Mike Nifong – the prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse …
Racial Fairness In The Criminal Justice System: The Role Of The Prosecutor, Angela J. Davis
Racial Fairness In The Criminal Justice System: The Role Of The Prosecutor, Angela J. Davis
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
In this article, Davis analyzes discusses efforts to involve prosecutors in the elimination of racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Part II explains how prosecutors unintentionally contribute to disparities through the arbitrary, unsystematic exercise of discretion. Part III argues that the U.S. Supreme Court has failed to provide an effective legal remedy for victims of race-based selective prosecution. Finally, in Part IV, Davis endorses the use of racial impact studies and task forces and discusses a model reform effort spearheaded by the Vera Institute of Justice.
The Perils Of Evidentiary Manipulation, Edward K. Cheng
The Perils Of Evidentiary Manipulation, Edward K. Cheng
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
The use of evidentiary rules to achieve substantive goals strikes me as a Faustian bargain, and, given Bierschbach and Stein's acknowledgedly tentative position, I hope to dissuade them of the virtues of the practice. My goal therefore is to explore briefly the potential dark side of specialized evidentiary rules. The concerns of injecting substantive goals into evidence law extend far beyond the narrow legitimacy concerns Bierschbach and Stein raise. It is not simply the question of whether we aspire to a pluralistic or majority-take-all democratic society. Rather, evidentiary manipulation threatens the legitimacy of criminal and evidence law... Bierschbach and Stein's …
Unenumerated Rights And The Limits Of Analogy: A Critque Of The Right To Medical Self-Defense, O. Carter Snead
Unenumerated Rights And The Limits Of Analogy: A Critque Of The Right To Medical Self-Defense, O. Carter Snead
Journal Articles
Volokh’s project stands or falls with the claim that the entitlement he proposes is of constitutional dimension. If there is no fundamental right to medical self-defense, the individual must, for better or worse, yield to the regulation of this domain in the name of the values agreed to by the political branches of government. Indeed, the government routinely restricts the instrumentalities of self-help (including self-defense) in the name of avoiding what it takes to be more significant harms. This same rationale accounts for current governmental limitations on access to unapproved drugs and the current ban on organ sales. The FDA …
The Principled Exception And The Forgotten Criterion, Steve Coughlan
The Principled Exception And The Forgotten Criterion, Steve Coughlan
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
The principled exception to the hearsay rule is routinely described as being settled by the "twin criteria" of necessity and reliability. In fact a third criterion is also — or at least ought to be — at play: that admitting the evidence through hearsay would not undermine any other rule of evidence. The Court has made reference to this third criterion in the past, but it has largely been ignored in both Supreme Court and lower court decisions. The recent judgement in Couture depends in a limited way on that question, and so it marks an opportunity to articulate the …
Abducted Fugitives Before The International Criminal Court: Problems And Prospects, Robert Currie
Abducted Fugitives Before The International Criminal Court: Problems And Prospects, Robert Currie
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
In the law and literature relating to the exertion of criminal jurisdiction over the person, there exists a nagging problem that has plagued practitioners, courts and academics alike. The phrase of art is usually something along the lines of "irregular rendition," but the issues are as notorious as they are controversial: what should a court do with an accused criminal brought before it as a result of abduction (or otherwise illegal detention) from a foreign state? And, in particular, should the fact of the illegal or irregular rendition of the fugitive affect either the court's ability or its willingness to …
Criminalization Of Corporate Law: The Impact On Shareholders And Other Constituents, Jill E. Fisch
Criminalization Of Corporate Law: The Impact On Shareholders And Other Constituents, Jill E. Fisch
All Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Forward: Lessons From The Saddam Trial, Michael P. Scharf
Forward: Lessons From The Saddam Trial, Michael P. Scharf
Faculty Publications
Forward to the conference on "Lessons from the Daddam Trial."
The Canine Metaphor And The Future Of Sentencing Reform: Dogs, Tails, And The Constitutional Law Of Wagging, Benjamin Priester
The Canine Metaphor And The Future Of Sentencing Reform: Dogs, Tails, And The Constitutional Law Of Wagging, Benjamin Priester
Journal Publications
Over the last seven years, in what is commonly referred to as the Apprendi line of cases, the United States Supreme Court has promulgated an audacious and controversial constitutional law of sentencing characterized by thinly veiled disdain for legislative sentencing reform measures and high regard for judicial discretion in punishing offenders. The Court's opinions have asserted that its newfound constitutional principle is necessary to safeguard defendants' Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury against legislative encroachment. In truth, the only interest being preserved is judges' assessment of their own importance. The doctrinal and practical effects of the new sentencing doctrine …