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Articles 31 - 35 of 35

Full-Text Articles in Law

The Urban Criinal Justice System & The Juror's Perception, David Lewis Jan 1993

The Urban Criinal Justice System & The Juror's Perception, David Lewis

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The criminal justice system is anchored in its belief that twelve citizens are capable of working together to sift through the most difficult and complicated information without any preconception or bias to arrive at a "just" result. In this essay, the author explores the diverse perceptions the various actors in a courtroom (prosecutor, defense lawyer, police officer, jurors) and discusses how these views form an integral part of the courtroom dynamic.


"A Good Murder", Leigh B. Bienen Jan 1993

"A Good Murder", Leigh B. Bienen

Fordham Urban Law Journal

People are profoundly interested in crimes because the law and legal punishments are supposed to address the fundamental human craving for justice. Courts are embedded in this system of law because we do not rust individuals alone or groups to judge fairly. This essay will describe a pattern which emerged when researchers examined all homicide cases in the state of New Jersey during the years immediately after the reimposition of capital punishment in 1982. Particularly relevant is the pattern of capital punishment for urban and suburban murders, and how those cases were regarded by law enforcement, the media, and the …


Urban Criminal Justice: No Fairer Than The Larger Society, Joanne Page Jan 1993

Urban Criminal Justice: No Fairer Than The Larger Society, Joanne Page

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Essay reflects the author's personal perspective on the fairness of the criminal justice system. She argues that the key to assessing the fairness of the system is to examine it, not in isolation, but within a larger social context. The criminal justice system is part of the larger society, shares its values and is shaped by its allocation of resources. The criminal justice system is consistent with the values of that larger society: It treats the lives of poor people and people of color as being of inferior worth, skewing its intervention toward control and punishment rather than toward …


The Urban Criminal Justice System: Where Young + Black + Male = Probable Cause, Elizabeth A. Gaynes Jan 1993

The Urban Criminal Justice System: Where Young + Black + Male = Probable Cause, Elizabeth A. Gaynes

Fordham Urban Law Journal

We live in a country where one out of four young African-American men is under some form of custodial supervision. In our nation's capital, seven out of ten African-American men can anticipate being arrested and jailed at least once before reaching the age of thirty-five. We live in a city where a black man between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four is far more likely to die of homicide than all other causes combined. The official response to the problem of urban crime by minority youth has been prison, prison, and more prison. This essay provides an overview and examples …


State Of New York Temporary State Commission On Local Government Ethics Final Report Jan 1993

State Of New York Temporary State Commission On Local Government Ethics Final Report

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The New York Temporary State Commission on Local Government Ethics was constituted in 1987 in response to several ethics scandals in New York City government. The commission was tasked primarily with aiding local governments in evaluating and revising their own ethics standards, and with proposing new municipal ethics legislation for the State of New York. The commission's proposal for local ethics reform rested on the propositions that most local officials are honest and ethical; that local governments are heavily dependent on volunteers; that local government ethics must be enforced at the local level; that ethics rules must be reasonable, sensible, …