Law Commons^™

Criminal Procedure Mate: Searches And Seizures, Interrogation, Identifications, And Exclusionary Remedy, Robert Bloom

Robert Bloom

No abstract provided.

The Georgia Death Penalty Habeas Corpus Reform Act Of 1995, Donald E. Wilkes Jr.

Scholarly Works

On April 10, 1995, Gov. Zell Miller signed into law Georgia's Death Penalty Habeas Corpus Reform Act of 1995. The Act is premised upon the following findings and determinations of the General Assembly: that through direct appeal, sentence review, and habeas corpus the state now provides persons sentenced to death "adequate opportunities" to assert their constitutional rights; that habeas corpus proceedings should not be used by persons sentenced to death "solely as a delaying tactic under the guise of asserting rights;" and that "strict compliance" with habeas corpus procedures "will prevent the waste of limited resources and will eliminate unnecessary …

Child Sexual Abuse Prosecutions: Admitting Out-Of-Court Statements Of Child Victims And Witnesses In Louisana, Charles W. Ehrhardt, Ryon M. Mccabe

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

How Juries Decide Death: The Contributions Of The Capital Jury Project, Valerie P. Hans

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

In 1988 I concluded a review of what was then known about capital jury decision-making with the following observations: “[T]he penalty phase presents significant incongruities. The jurors are charged with representing the community's judgment, yet the voir dire and challenge processes have eliminated significant segments of the public from the jury. Jurors have been influenced by preceding events during voir dire questioning and the trial in pivotal ways, yet they are instructed to focus only on aggravating and mitigating evidence. They are told to ignore their emotions in perhaps one of the most emotionally charged decisions they will ever make, …

The "Burden" Of Proof In Federal Habeas Litigation, J. Thomas Sullivan

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Barnes V. Thompson 58 F.3d 971 (4th Cir. 1995) United States Court Of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Fitzgerald V. Commonwealth 249 Va. 299, 455 S.E.2d 506 (1995) Supreme Court Of Virginia

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

The Mandatory Arrest Law: Police Reaction, Kevin Walsh

Pace Law Review

The mandatory arrest requirement in certain domestic violence situations is unique, due to the fact that no other class of offense requires arrest. The Criminal Procedure Law states that a police officer "may arrest" for all other classes of offenses. The new subdivision states that a police officer "shall arrest a person, and shall not attempt to reconcile the parties or mediate .... ." The use of the word "shall," in contrast to "may," indicates obligation or necessity. Why has this class of offenses been singled out for mandatory arrest? What factors brought this mandatory arrest law about?

Royal V. Commonwealth 250 Va. 110, 458 S.E.2d 575 (1995) Supreme Court Of Virginia

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Virginia's New State Habeas: What Every Attorney Needs To Know, Gregory J. Weinig

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

A Decade Of Strickland's Tin Horn: Doctrinal And Practical Undermining Of The Right To Counsel, William S. Geimer

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Clinical Education Programs--An Overview, Robert Bloom

Robert M. Bloom

No abstract provided.

The Public Safety Exception To Miranda: Analyzing Subjective Motivation, Marc Schuyler Reiner

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues, however, that the appropriate inquiry under Quarles is whether an actual and reasonable belief in an emergency motivated the interrogating officer. This Note proposes a two-prong test to facilitate this inquiry. The subjective motivation prong evaluates the officer's subjective motivation as revealed by objective factors: the. content of the officer's questions, when he asked them, and when the suspect received Miranda warnings. The objective reasonableness prong looks at the objective circumstances to determine the reasonableness of the officer's belief in an emergency.

Part I demonstrates that the Quarles opinion actually contemplates and requires analysis of the officer's …

The Public Safety Exception To Miranda: Analyzing Subjective Motivation, Marc Schuyler Reiner

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues, however, that the appropriate inquiry under Quarles is whether an actual and reasonable belief in an emergency motivated the interrogating officer. This Note proposes a two-prong test to facilitate this inquiry. The subjective motivation prong evaluates the officer's subjective motivation as revealed by objective factors: the. content of the officer's questions, when he asked them, and when the suspect received Miranda warnings. The objective reasonableness prong looks at the objective circumstances to determine the reasonableness of the officer's belief in an emergency.

Part I demonstrates that the Quarles opinion actually contemplates and requires analysis of the officer's …

No Magic Formula: A New Approach For Calculating The Ten Year Time Period For Admission Of Prior Conviction Evidence, Amy E. Sloan

All Faculty Scholarship

Federal Rule of Evidence (FRE) 609 governs admission of prior conviction evidence. Under this rule, it is easier to admit evidence of a prior conviction that is less than ten years old than to admit evidence of older convictions. The ten year period is measured from the later of either the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement.

Calculating the ten year period is fairly straightforward in most cases but becomes confusing when the witness has been confined for violating the terms of probation, parole, or some other period of conditional release. Does the confinement for violation …

Criminal Procedure—The Clear Meaning Of Ambiguity. Davis V. United States, 114 S. Ct. 2350 (1994)., Melissa Beard Glover

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Andrea Wilson

Mercer Law Review

In 1984, Congress mandated the creation of the United States Sentencing Commission composed of presidential appointees to create guidelines for a comprehensive sentencing scheme. As a result, the United States Sentencing Guidelines ("U.S.S.G.") have been in effect since November 1, 1987, and apply to all federal criminal offenses committed since that date.

In principle, guideline sentencing should be simple. Courts should arrive at a sentencing range using calculations that first consider the criminal conduct being sentenced and then the criminal history of the offender. In practice, however, the guidelines are difficult to understand, impossible to apply evenhandedly, and frequently difficult …

The Federal Rules Of Evidence--Past, Present, And Future: A Twenty-Year Perspective, Faust Rossi

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This Essay surveys three major transformations in state and federal rules of evidence since the introduction of the Federal Rules of Evidence. The Rules have not only inspired a movement toward codification in the states, they have also liberalized the admission of expert testimony and hearsay. This partially explains thirteen states' reluctance to codify. Judges have furthered this trend by admitting far more discretionary hearsay evidence than Congress intended. Professor Rossi doubts this expansion of the hearsay exceptions would have occurred without the adoption of the FRE and suggests that the newly formed Advisory Committee will produce greater substantive changes …

Chopping Miranda Down To Size, Michael Chertoff

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Confessions, Truth, and the Law by Joseph D. Grano

Reflections On O.J. And The Gas Chamber, J. Michael Echevarria

San Diego Law Review

This Article discusses the traditional justifications advanced in support of the death penalty and compares them with current empirical data. The justifications are then applied to the O.J. Simpson case. The Article examines the data and reasons for the incidence of error in convicting innocent defendants in capital cases. The type of representation available to O.J. Simpson is contrasted with the quality of representation accorded to most capital defendants. After comparing the empirical data with the ideological justifications for capital punishment, the Author concludes that capital punishment is not necessary.

Improving Constitutional Criminal Procedure, Welsh S. White

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Failure of the Criminal Procedure Revolution by Craig M. Bradley

The Rhetoric Of Innocence, William S. Laufer

Washington Law Review

This Article promotes the serious consideration of innocence in the criminal process, and gives meaning to the rhetoric surrounding the presumption of innocence. The first part illustrates the near irrelevance of innocence in an accusatorial system of justice where burdens of proof require proof of guilt The second and third parts of the Article discuss the meaning of the presumption of innocence. It is argued that legislatures and courts have ignored the tension between the conflicting goals of the criminal process by thinking of the presumption of innocence as a legal presumption. As a legal presumption, its effects are indistinguishable …

Exceptional Sentencing In Washington After State V. Freitag: Pushing The Limits Of The Sentencing Reform Act, Lisa K. Strom

Washington Law Review

In 1981 the Washington state legislature enacted the Sentencing Reform Act (SRA) with the intent of reducing disparity in sentencing through the implementation of presumptive sentencing ranges. The SRA authorizes judges to depart from the presumptive range by imposing an exceptional sentence if appropriate mitigating or aggravating factors exist. Since 1981, virtually all courts have determined a factor's appropriateness by considering its relation to the factual nature of the crime itself. In State v. Freitag, however, the Washington Court of Appeals recently held that a trial court may rely on factors which do not directly relate to the nature …

A Disparity That Is Worlds Apart: The Federal Sentencing Guidelines Treatment Of Crack Cocaine And Powder Cocaine, Kimberley Mache Maxwell

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Balance Between Fighting Street Gangs And Adhering To The Constitution In Southern California, D. Cameron Beck, Jr.

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Opening The Door To The Grand Jury: Abandoning Secrecy For Secrecy's Sake, George Edward Dazzo

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

The grand jury in the United States is hailed by its proponents as an indispensable buffer of protection from malicious and unfounded prosecution by the State. Critics, however, liken the investigatory body to a rubber stamp of the prosecutor, analogous to early English grand jurors who were subject to the influences of the Monarch. Criticism of the grand jury often focuses on the grand jury's potential for oppression rather than protection of the individual.' In particular, it is the secrecy of the grand jury that sparks the most debate.'

Suggestions For Circuit Court Review Of Local Procedures, Carl Tobias

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Williams V. Commonwealth 248 Va. 528,450 S.E.2d 365 (1994) Supreme Court Of Virginia

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Strickler V. Murray 249 Va. 120, 452 S.E.2d 648 (1995) Supreme Court Of Virginia

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Not Holding The Balance Nice, Clear And True: The Right To An Impartial Judge, John M. Delprete

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.