Law Commons^™

The New Normativity: The Abuse Excuse And The Resurgence Of Judgment In The Criminal Law, Victoria Nourse

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article reviews Moral Judgment: Does the Abuse Excuse Threaten Our Legal System? by James Q. Wilson (1997).

There is growing interest within the academy in reviving the "normative" in criminal law scholarship. Enter a recent book, Moral Judgment, by the distinguished criminologist James Q. Wilson. Professor Wilson's work prompts the question: What is meant by the term ''judgment"? Considering three different models--judgment as community, judgment as character, and judgment as critique--this review argues that Professor Wilson's idea of judgment both departs from the "new normativity" in existing scholarship and shows how easily ''judgment" may stand in for partial …

Assembly Bill To Speed Divorce After Abuse Will Save Many Lives, Bring Needed Reform, Jane C. Murphy

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Legal Images Of Motherhood: Conflicting Definitions From Welfare "Reform," Family And Criminal Law, Jane C. Murphy

All Faculty Scholarship

Part I of this Article explores the traditional idealized view of motherhood that child placement statutes and court decisions reflect. These laws include statutes and case law in custody disputes between parents and in child protection proceedings under civil and criminal laws where the dispute is between the parent and the state. Part II contrasts the legal construct of motherhood that child placement laws embody with the legal image of mothers in child support and welfare law.

Part III examines the impact of these conflicting images of motherhood on a particular group of mothers -- battered women. Battered women illuminate …

The Economics Of Violence: Why Freedom From Domestic Violence Must Be Treated As A Developmental Right In International Law, Kelsey S. Barnes

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Prosecutorial Use Of Expert Testimony In Domestic Violence Cases: From Recantation To Refusal To Testify, Audrey Rogers

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article discusses the use of expert testimony in prosecuting those charged with domestic abuse. Part I provides a background on the need and nature of expert testimony in domestic violence cases and the requirements for the admission of such expert testimony. It traces the development of the role of expert testimony in domestic violence cases from its initial exclusive use as a defense tool to support self-defense claims to its present use by prosecutors to explain a complainant's recantation or other puzzling behavior. Part II discusses the appellate cases that have addressed the admissibility and scope of expert testimony …

The Negative Effects Of Expert Testimony On The Battered Women's Syndrome, Pamela Posch

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Battered Women Syndrome As A Tort Cause Of Action, Heather Tonsing

Journal of Law and Health

The focus of this Note is the upcoming development of a new tort cause of action which would afford battered women full recovery and also help alleviate a growing public health epidemic. This Note argues that battered women syndrome is a valid psychological theory which has a place in civil litigation as a recognized cause of action. Although the theory is criticized by feminist scholars who believe that the testimony may perpetuate gender bias in criminal trials, the syndrome is still advantageous for women seeking redress in civil courts. Part I examines the phenomenon of battered women syndrome and its …

Feminism And Defending Men On Death Row Symposium: Thoughts On Death Penalty Issues 25 Years After Furman V. Georgia., Phyllis L. Crocker

St. Mary's Law Journal

In this Essay I explore the relationship between being a feminist and representing men on death row. It is appropriate to engage in this inquiry in considering how the law has developed in the twenty-five years since Furman v. Georgia. During that time both Furman and the advent of feminist legal theory have required a restructuring in the way we think about two fundamental legal questions: for death penalty jurisprudence, how and why we sentence individuals to death; and for feminist jurisprudence, how the law views crimes of violence against women. The relationship between these two developments becomes apparent when …

Buying Time For Survivors Of Domestic Violence: A Proposal For Implementing An Exception To Welfare Time Limits, Jennifer Mason Mcaward

Journal Articles

With the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Personal Responsibility Act), states have unprecedented discretion in fashioning their social welfare programs.

This Note examines the Personal Responsibility Act, focusing specifically on the statutory language and history of the sixty-month time limit on receipt of benefits and the two optional exceptions states may enact. This examination reveals that the Act contemplates that states have both the power and the support of Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services to implement exceptions for the benefit of survivors of domestic violence.

Given that states may …

Domestic Violence In Black And White: Racialized Gender Stereotypes In Gender Violence, Zanita E. Fenton

Articles

No abstract provided.

Kentucky Domestic Violence And Abuse Act: Civil Remedies For Victims, Carol E. Jordan, Karen Quinn

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

Advocates for victims of domestic violence have long argued that this specifi form of violence is no less an offense than an assault by a stranger. In fact, because domestic violence invovles closely related victims and offenders, it poses additional and very serious risks to victims. Such risks led advocates to promote the creation of civil remedies for victims of domestic violence. The Domestic violence and abuse Act and its civil protections were created by the 1984 General Assembly, not to replace criminal sanctions, but to afford victims additional civil protections which the criminal justice system does not provide.