Law Commons^™

Innocent Until Suspected Guilty, Rebekah Durham

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Challenging Solitary Confinement Through State Constitutions, Alison Gordon

University of Cincinnati Law Review

Eighth Amendment jurisprudence has resulted in limited scrutiny of solitary confinement despite the known harms associated with the practice. The two-part test established by the federal courts to evaluate Eighth Amendment claims and limitations on challenging prison conditions under the Prison Litigation Reform Act can make it difficult to establish that solitary confinement is cruel and unusual punishment.

State constitutional challenges to solitary confinement are underexplored. Nearly all state constitutions contain an equivalent provision to the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. State courts need not be bound by federal jurisprudence in interpreting the scope of the state …

Justice Delayed Is Not Justice Denied: Considerations And Concerns For Addressing The National Sexual Assault Kit Backlog, Bryan Schwartz

University of Cincinnati Law Review

Across the nation, many states have started clearing their backlogs of thousands of untested sexual assault kits. Most states have also implemented legislative and procedural safeguards to improve sexual assault investigation and prevent future backlogs. This article first posits that states seeking to address their sexual assault kit backlog should consider Nevada’s approach, which successfully eliminated the backlog and simultaneously reformed its sexual assault investigation procedures. However, this article primarily argues that, without allocating reoccurring future funding to support the recent legislative and procedural changes, states run the risk of future backlogs of sexual assault cases. State legislatures and policymakers …

When The Conditions Are The Confinement: Eighth Amendment Habeas Claims During Covid-19, Michael L. Zuckerman

University of Cincinnati Law Review

The COVID-19 pandemic cast into harsher relief much that was already true about mass incarceration in the United States. It also cast into harsher relief much that was already true about the legal barriers confronting people seeking to make its conditions more humane. This Article offers a brief overview of the legal landscape as the COVID-19 crisis arose and then surveys eight prominent federal cases involving Eighth Amendment claims related to COVID-19 outbreaks at carceral facilities, most of which included significant litigation over whether they could secure release through habeas corpus. The Article then distills six key tensions from these …

Potus And Pot: Why The President Could Not Legalize Marijuana Through Executive Action, Robert Mikos

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Objective Punishment, Anthony M. Dillof

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.