Law Commons^™

A Guide To Pathological Evidence For Lawyers And Police Officers, Gilles Renaud

Dalhousie Law Journal

The Bench, the Criminal Bar, the Civil Bar, and Law Enforcement officers will all hail the publication of the Third Edition of this outstanding work by Dr. Jaffe, whose lengthy and distinguished career as the former Medical Director of the Centre of Forensic Sciences has been marked by a desire to educate and to demystify the science of pathology. Although the text is relatively brief, the 246 pages include 17 well structured and clearly written chapters that discuss authoritatively subjects ranging from the Medico-Legal Autopsy to the role of the Pathologist in instructing defence counsel. Of note, the topic of …

Criminology: A Reader's Guide, Bruce P. Archibald

Dalhousie Law Journal

As a journeyman law teacher, sometime sociologist, enthusiastic law reformer, and an occasional dabbler in criminology and comparative law, this volume came to me like manna from heaven. It's an intelligent catalogue of almost all I ever wanted to know but most often never had time to read. Modestly called "a reader's guide", this book will serve a multitude of purposes for anyone with an interest in criminology. It is an excellent starting point for the student wishing to commence research on nearly any serious criminological topic. Criminal justice professionals who wish to step out of their narrow niche and …

The Saga Of Wiretapping In France: What It Tells Us About The French Criminal Justice System, Edward A. Tomlinson

Louisiana Law Review

No abstract provided.

Human Rights Aspects Of The Prisoner Transfer In A Comparative Perspective, Michael Plachta

Louisiana Law Review

No abstract provided.

After White V. Illinois: Fundamental Guarantees To A Hollow Right To Confront Witnesses, Patricia W. Bennett

Journal Articles

The thrust of this Article is three-fold: (1) to discuss the historical aspects of the Confrontation Clause and its interpretation by the United States Supreme Court, (2) to show that, with White v. Illinois, the Supreme Court lost its moorings with previous decisions and drifted into treacherous constitutional seas, and (3) to suggest a textual construction of the Confrontation Clause that would be harmonious with the hearsay rule while preserving the rights of the accused to face their actual accusers.

The Race Factor And Trial By Jury, Kenneth Conboy

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The institution of trial by jury in criminal cases, one of the great achievements in the history of civilization and a principal foundation of our federal constitutional order, is to day under challenge by two different by interrelated developments in American courtrooms. The first is the development of a broad national imperative to eliminate all aspects of racism in American legal, political, and social life. The second is the heightened scrutiny that electronic media presence is applying to the jury system. This essay explores the utility and fairness of the American trial jury and its premise as a democratic and …

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

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 …

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 …

The High Cost Of Juvenile Justice, Diane Ridley Gatewood

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Essay will discuss the high cost of incarcerating substantial numbers of minority juveniles and will advocate alternatives to detention. The author discusses how minority youth are disproportionately affected at multiple stages of the criminal justice process: arrests, detentions, adjudication, and disposition. The Essay further discusses the increased use of the prison system for juveniles. The Essay concludes with several recommendations for how minority youth can be treated more fairly within the system and recommends alternatives to incarceration.

A Moral Standard For The Prosecutor's Exercise Of The Charging Discretion, Bennett L. Gershman

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The prosecutor's decision to institute criminal charges is the broadest and least regulated power in American criminal law. The judicial deference shown to prosecutors generally is most noticeable with respect to the charging function. This Essay discusses three hypothetical cases that present both realistic and recurring challenges to the prosecutor's charging power. The first case depends on a factual determination of a witness's reliability. The second case depends on a factual determination of the witness's truthfulness. The third case revolves around a legal determination regarding the applicability of a defense. Together, these cases provide a setting in which a moral …

The Big Black Man Syndrome: The Rodney King Trial And The Use Of Racial Stereotyes In The Courtroom, Lawrence Vogelman

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Rodney King was portrayed as the prototypical "Big Black Man". Having recognized the existence of the Big Black Man Syndrome as a factor in the Rodney King Case, what are the moral and ethical implications of allowing defense counsel to so cleverly play upon the racial fears they evidently recognized? The issue is whether the use of racist arguments by defense counsel in a criminal trial is unethical. This essay explores the ethical consideration that come into play where a trial advocate is faced with a case where racism, homophobia, or ethnic prejudice is part of the courtroom dynamic.

The Urban Crimnal Justice System: A Case Of Fairness, John F. Keenan

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This short essay contains the presiding judges recollections of the case People v. Robles as a way to discuss public perception of fairness in the criminal justice system.

Corrective Justice For Moderns, George P. Fletcher

Faculty Scholarship

Once when I was reading a Soviet commentary on criminal procedure, a friend noticed the cyrillic title and asked whether the Russian book was fiction or nonfiction. My initial tendency was to give the straight response, "Nonfiction, of course," but then I thought about what I was reading and began to laugh. Now if someone asked me whether Jules Coleman's Risks and Wrongs was fiction or nonfiction, I would want to give the straight reply. Thinking about the book, however, I hesitate. And I do not laugh.

It is becoming more and more difficult these days to distinguish fiction from …

For The Criminal Practitioner Review Of Fourth Circuit Opinions In Criminal Cases Decided In Calendar Year 1992, Carl Horn

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Use Of Excessive Physical Force Against An Inmate May Constitute Cruel And Unusual Punishment Even Though The Prisoner Does Not Suffer Significant Injury., Anthony A. Avey

St. Mary's Law Journal

In Hudson v. McMillian, the Supreme Court held that use of excessive physical force against an inmate may constitute cruel and unusual punishment even though the prisoner does not suffer any significant injury. The Eighth Amendment has evolved significantly since its adoption in 1791, becoming a complex line of authority which over time expanded the rights of criminals and convicts. Recent cases have attempted to mold the varying Eight Amendment standards into a more cohesive legal doctrine. These efforts were meant to clarify the doctrine of cruel and unusual punishments; however, the divergent interpretations of these decisions rendered Eighth Amendment …

Environmental Torts, Troyen A. Brennan

Vanderbilt Law Review

Over the last two decades, a new class of torts has emerged that targets personal injuries caused by toxic substances in the environment. These hybrid environmental torts are quite distinct from the trespass-nuisance precedent that is part of traditional tort theory; nor are environmental torts simply a subset of the mass hazardous sub- stance litigation that has remade product liability law. Environmental torts are informed, in a way product law is not, by environmental regulation. These torts are unique because their deterrent signal is transmitted to producers of hazardous environmental pollutants by litigants who have suffered physical injury or disease. …

Legitimating The Illegitimate: A Comment On 'Beyond Rape', Robin West

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Professor Dripps's provocative proposal, as I understand it, is that we think of sex as a commodity and rape as the theft of that commodity. Understood as such, the theft of sex accomplished through violence or the threat of violence is a twofold wrong: it violates our "negative" right to refuse to have sex with anyone for any or no reason, and violence or the threat of violence infringes our right to personal, physical security. Therefore, the violent expropriation of sex should be punished as a major felony, as is violent rape, at least in theory.
  
Furthermore, according to Dripps, …

Decriminalizing Prostitution: Liberation Or Dehumanization?, Carlin Meyer

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

A Quiet Year: The Supreme Court's Criminal Law Decisions During The 1991 Term, William E. Hellerstein

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Criminal Law, Brent M. Boyd, M. C. Cauthen, F. S. Pfeiffer, Pamela A. Wilkins, Christie L. Companion, J. E. Pilgreen Iv, James M. Hughes, Wendy Hallford-Dudley

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Paedophilia: The Criminal Responsibility Of Canada's Churches, Dawn Russell

Dalhousie Law Journal

In the last few years Canada's churches have been plagued by sexual abuse scandals from Newfoundland to British Columbia. Members of the clergy and of lay orders across the country have been charged with, and convicted of, criminal offences involving the physical and sexual abuse of children. Mediareports and television documentaries have emphasized the tremendous scope of the problem of clergy paedophilia, the seriousness of the harm done to the victims, and the irresponsible and sometimes heartless behaviour of church officials who received reports of such abuse. These stories have shocked the Canadian public and have given rise to a …

Aboriginal Peoples And Criminal Justice: A Special Report Of The Law Reform Commission Of Canada, Bruce P. Archibald

Dalhousie Law Journal

Canada's criminal justice system has been shaken out of its stolid complacency in recent years by demonstrated instances of unfair treatment of religious, ethnic and racial minorities, and in particular our Aboriginal peoples.' Faced with a hue and cry directed at the justice system, the federal Minister of Justice asked the Law Reform Commission of Canada to study "as a matter of special priority, the Criminal Code and related statutes and to examine the extent to which those laws ensure that Aboriginal persons and persons who are members of cultural or religious minorities have equal access to justice and are …

Personal Responsibility In Criminal Law , Lois Haight Herrington

Cornell Law Review

No abstract provided.

State Intervention In Pregnancy, Julia Elizabeth Jones

Louisiana Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Need For An International Criminal Court In The New International World Order, M. Cherif Bassiouni, Christopher L. Blakesley

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, Professors Bassiouni and Blakesley argue that the institution of an international criminal court would provide an effective means of dealing with international problems that are created by or unaddressed in a unilateral or bilateral international system. Rather than deflecting domestic concentration on law enforcement, the proposed tribunal will be a complementary and incremental effort, which will enhance criminal justice enforcement. The authors address several questions concerning the implementation of the tribunal, including questions related to sovereignty and bases for jurisdiction, which crimes will be within the court's jurisdiction, which law will apply to the cases, and practical …

Increased Judicial Scrutiny For The Administrative Crime , Mark D. Alexander

Cornell Law Review

No abstract provided.

Booth V. Maryland, Insights Into The Contemporary Challenges To Judging, Joan M. Shaughnessy

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Update--Criminal Law & Procedure, Bruce G. Berner, David E. Vandercoy

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Jury Trial In The Criminal Context: The Link Between The Defendant And The Community, Alfredo Garcia

St. Thomas Law Review

No abstract provided.