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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Rhetoric Of Innocence, William S. Laufer
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
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 …