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Full-Text Articles in Law
Dna – Intimate Information Or Trash For Public Consumption?, Melanie D. Wilson
Dna – Intimate Information Or Trash For Public Consumption?, Melanie D. Wilson
Scholarly Articles
“Surreptitious sampling” may be police officers’ trump card in cracking otherwise unsolvable crimes as serious as murder, arson and rape. Law enforcement officers engage in surreptitious sampling when they covertly collect DNAsamples from unsuspecting people, who inadvertently leave behind hair, skin cells, saliva or other biological materials.Surreptitious sampling is a terrific crime-resolution tool. It allows diligent law enforcement officers to collect proof-positive evidence of guilt or innocence without the hassle of obtaining a warrant and absent probable cause or reasonable suspicion to believe that the contributor of the biological evidence committed a crime. Provided an officer has the energy and …
A Return To The Grand Jury To Promote A Zen Zeal In Prosecutors, Melanie D. Wilson
A Return To The Grand Jury To Promote A Zen Zeal In Prosecutors, Melanie D. Wilson
Scholarly Articles
DNA evidence has freed at least 209 convicted people. Sometimes DNA evidence exonerates a person. Other times, it does not. When it does not exonerate, a prosecutor must decide whether to persist in further prosecution of the defendant. I propose a fresh, but simple, solution for prosecutors who face such choices. To protect the interests of defendants and victims, and to assuage society’s need for fair and accurate outcomes, prosecutors should represent these cases to a grand jury. The grand jury is an easily convened neutral party that can dispassionately evaluate the evidence, old and new, and determine whether a …
Karen E. Woody, Putting Pandora On Trial, 98 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 699 (2008) (Reviewing Mark A. Drumbl, Atrocity, Punishment, And International Law (2007)), Karen E. Woody
Scholarly Articles
In the wake of increasing globalization over the past fifty years, international criminal law has transformed from a toothless shadow into a concrete reality; the International Criminal Court is the most recent and impressive institutional accomplishment. Unfortunately, international criminal law has enjoyed this progress on the heels of increasingly horrific international crimes. International adjudicatory institutions have taken many forms and the sentences they deliver have varied widely. In Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law, Mark Drumbl reviews the strides made in international criminal law from the Nuremberg trials through present-day trials, particularly those related to the crimes committed in Rwanda and …
Finding A Happy And Ethical Medium Between A Prosecutor Who Believes The Defendant Didn't Do It And The Boss Who Says That He Did, Melanie D. Wilson
Finding A Happy And Ethical Medium Between A Prosecutor Who Believes The Defendant Didn't Do It And The Boss Who Says That He Did, Melanie D. Wilson
Scholarly Articles
The increasing prevalence of DNA testing has proven that, at times, our criminal justice system renders wrongful convictions. Extrapolating from such significant errors, we can infer that smaller mistakes also occur. Because criminal prosecution is not an exact science, like DNA evidence, prosecutors can disagree about aspects of a case-whether to reward a cooperating defendant with a sentence reduction, whether to indict a defendant under a mandatory minimum statute, and even whether a defendant is guilty of a crime. This Essay examines the tension that arises when the prosecutor handling a case disagrees with her boss about one or more …
Prosecutors "Doing Justice" Through Osmosis—Reminders To Encourage A Culture Of Cooperation, Melanie D. Wilson
Prosecutors "Doing Justice" Through Osmosis—Reminders To Encourage A Culture Of Cooperation, Melanie D. Wilson
Scholarly Articles
Cooperating defendants have proven to be necessary and valuable tools in preventing crime and prosecuting criminals. Federal prosecutors must exercise vigilance to thoughtfully decide how best to pursue the information cooperating defendants can provide. Such informed and good-faith judgment calls will inevitably require every prosecutor to weigh "the relative value or importance of different rights and interests and decide what, if any, action to take in response to a given tip. The DOJ and the ninety-three U.S. Attorneys can foster good decision-making by developing a culture of "doing justice" in which every prosecutor is encouraged.
The Return Of Reasonableness: Saving The Fourth Amendment From The Supreme Court, Melanie D. Wilson
The Return Of Reasonableness: Saving The Fourth Amendment From The Supreme Court, Melanie D. Wilson
Scholarly Articles
Although there is no recipe for defining Fourth Amendment reasonableness, the Supreme Court produces its most anomalous Fourth Amendment outcomes when it decides "mixed" questions of reasonableness, assessing issues that turn on how ordinary, prudent citizens think and behave. The Court treats these mixed issues, combinations of fact and law, as if they raise purely legal questions. But mixed issues are more complex and require someone to determine historical facts, apply those facts to principles of Fourth Amendment law, and consider the totality of the circumstances, including taking into account community and cultural influences. The Supreme Court will take its …
Self-Produced Child Pornography: The Appropriate Societal Response To Juvenile Self-Sexual Exploitation, Mary Graw Leary
Self-Produced Child Pornography: The Appropriate Societal Response To Juvenile Self-Sexual Exploitation, Mary Graw Leary
Scholarly Articles
The issues of “sexting” and “self-produced child pornography” (SPCP) have captured the attention of the media, courts, and state legislatures. A debate rages among advocates, policy makers, and reporters about how the law should address this activity. More than sixteen states have considered special legislation to address the problem and litigation has ensued. Lost in the debate are many realities including the complexity of the problem. This behavior implicates aspects of child development, child sexuality, child exploitation, teen dating violence, education, and parenting. While any deliberation about children and how the law should protect children is positive, sensationalism and oversimplification …
Kennedy V. Louisiana: A Chapter Of Subtle Changes In The Supreme Court’S Book On The Death Penalty—Sex Offenders: Recent Developments In Punishment And Management, Mary Graw Leary
Scholarly Articles
This paper examines the recent decision regarding the unconstitutionality of Louisiana's death penalty punishment for certain cases of child rape. The paper explores some of the nuanced language of the opinion as it indicates sublte shifts in the Court's death penalty analysis.
Lost In The Shuffle: The Other Indigent Defendants In Georgia, Cara H. Drinan
Lost In The Shuffle: The Other Indigent Defendants In Georgia, Cara H. Drinan
Scholarly Articles
No abstract provided.