Criminal Law Commons^™

How An Acoustic Sensor Can Catch A Gunman, 32 J. Marshall J. Info. Tech. & Privacy L. 211 (2016), Amanda Busljeta

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

Conversations said in public do not have an expectation of privacy, and therefore, the ShotSpotter does not violate the right to privacy. This comment will address the following: a) ShotSpotter technology is a necessity in all neighborhoods; b) ShotSpotter does not violate an individual’s expectation of privacy; c) the need for ShotSpotter outweighs the cost of the device; and e) regulations and economic solutions will allow cities to use ShotSpotter while still protecting the individual’s privacy rights.

From Tragedy To Triumph In The Pursuit Of Looted Art: Altmann, Benningson, Portrait Of Wally, Von Saher And Their Progeny, 15 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 394 (2016), Donald Burris

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

This article is a broad and approachable overview of American law regarding the potential repatriation of Nazi-looted art—an area which the author and his now-retired partner, Randy Schoenberg, helped develop from the ground up starting with the development of the Altmann case, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2004, and continuing on through a number of fascinating looted-art cases of a more recent vintage. Parts of the article read as much like a detective story as a summary of cases and Mr. Burris has been kind enough to share both his approach to these cases and his prognosis for …

The Icc And The Security Council: How Much Support Is There For Ending Impunity?, 26 Ind. Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 33 (2016), Stuart Ford

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

When One Spouse Has It: Dementia And The Permissibility Of Marital Sex Under Criminal Statute, 49 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1225 (2016), James Cook

UIC Law Review

The purpose of this article is to explore defining the acceptable parameters of marital sexual behavior, in situations where only one spouse has dementia, through criminal statute.

Think Twice Before Posting Online: Criminalizing Threats Under 18 U.S.C. § 875(C) After Elonis, 50 J. Marshall L. Rev. 167 (2016), Georgette Geha

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Forward Progress: A New Pattern Criminal Jury Instruction For Impeachment With Prior Inconsistent Statements Will Ease The Court’S Burden By Emphasizing The Prosecutor’S, 84 Fordham L. Rev. 1455 (2016), Hugh Mundy

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

Due in part to the “difficult-to-follow” instruction, the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Evidence (“the Advisory Committee” or “the Committee”) is now contemplating the expansion of Rule 801(d)(1)(A) to allow for the substantive admissibility of all prior inconsistent statements. While a revised rule would obviate the need for a limiting instruction, the change would enable federal prosecutors to offer out-of-court statements of tenuous reliability as proof against criminal defendants. A more just approach lies in a recrafted jury instruction—one which frames the admissibility of prior inconsistent statements in terms of the prosecutor’s burden of proof.

In this Article, …

Cash Is King: How Market-Based Strategies Have Corrupted Classrooms And Criminal Courts In Post-Katrina New Orleans, 39 Seattle U. L. Rev. 1199 (2016), Olympia Duhart, Hugh Mundy

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

On many accounts, it is a tale of two cities. The headlines and marketing machines tout to the world that “The Big Easy is Back.” But beyond the celebrations and parades, the story for poor Katrina survivors is very different. While many residents and businesses are enjoying a resurgence a decade after Katrina stormed through, others in post-Katrina New Orleans have a different experience. More than ten years after Hurricane Katrina, the city still struggles with systemic failures. These problem areas include housing, health care, mental health treatment, employment, education, and the criminal justice system. All of these challenges are …

The Destruction Of Cultural Heritage: A Crime Against Property Or A Crime Against People?, 15 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 336 (2016), Patty Gerstenblith

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

The destruction of cultural heritage has played a prominent role in the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Iraq and in the recent conflict in Mali. This destruction has displayed the failure of international law to effectively deter these actions. This article reviews existing international law in light of this destruction and the challenges posed by the issues of non-international armed conflict, non-state actors and the military necessity exception. By examining recent developments in applicable international law, the article proposes that customary international law has evolved to interpret existing legal instruments and doctrines concerning cultural heritage in light of the principles …

Where Are We And Where Are We Going: Legal Developments In Cultural Property And Nazi Art Looting, 15 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 435 (2016), Thomas Kline

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Cultural Plunder And Restitution And Human Identity, 15 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 460 (2016), Ori Soltes

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

A Silver Bullet: Should The Mere Presence Of Ammunition Create A Reasonable Suspicion Of Criminal Activity?, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 843 (2015), Kyle Gruca

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Overselling Images: Fmri And The Search For Truth, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 651 (2015), Erica Beecher-Monas, Edgar Garcia-Rill

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Confronting The Overcriminalization Of America, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 757 (2015), Timothy P. O'Neill

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Silence Is Not Golden, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 821 (2015), Greer Goldberg

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Smarter Sentencing Act: Achieving Fairness Through Financially Responsible Federal Sentencing Policies, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 911 (2015), Colleen Shannon

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Little “Black” Pill: Dressing Unlikely Murderers For Defense Success, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 933 (2015), Cassandra Wich

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Jones, Lackey, And Teague, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 961 (2015), J. Richard Broughton

UIC Law Review

In a recent, high-profile ruling, a federal court finally recognized that a substantial delay in executing a death row inmate violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishments. Courts have repeatedly rejected these so-called “Lackey claims,” making the federal court’s decision in Jones v. Chappell all the more important. And yet it was deeply flawed. This paper focuses on one of the major flaws in the Jones decision that largely escaped attention: the application of the non-retroactivity rule from Teague v. Lane. By comprehensively addressing the merits of the Teague bar as applied to Lackey claims, and making …

Amending Rape Shield Laws: Outdated Statutes Fail To Protect Victims On Social Media, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1087 (2015), Sydney Janzen

UIC Law Review

This Comment will first discuss the discoverability and admissibility of social media evidence in criminal and/or civil sexual assault cases. Section II(A) provides a broad overview of both federal and state rape shield laws, including the legislative policies behind their enactments, as well as the modern expansion of social media in the context of the legal system. Section II(B) will address the modern utility of social media in the context of the legal system. Section III first analyzes how courts look at discoverability and admissibility of social media evidence generally, and then focuses on sexual assault cases specifically. Further, Section …

Guidelines For Guidelines: Implications Of The Confrontation Clause's Revival For Federal Sentencing, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1039 (2015), Sopen Shah

UIC Law Review

Scholars and commentators heavily criticize the current federal sentencing system for over-incarceration, racial disparities in outcomes, and a lack of procedural protections for criminal defendants. This Article focuses on a procedural protection recently revived by the Supreme Court’s 2004 decision in Crawford v. Washington: the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment. Though Crawford only addressed the Clause’s application during trial, the case and its reasoning have important implications for today’s federal sentencing regime under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Though the Supreme Court has yet to directly address the issue, I argue that lower courts incorrectly interpret an old, pre-Crawford case …

Read, White, And Blue: Prosecutors Reading Inmate Emails And The Attorney-Client Privilege, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1119 (2015), Danielle Burkhardt

UIC Law Review

This Comment addresses whether the attorney-client privilege should extend to emails exchanged between an inmate and his or her attorney over TRULINCS, the prison email system. Section II describes the history of the attorney-client privilege, and compares and contrasts the federal privilege with the New York state privilege in order to directly address Dr. Ahmed’s conflict. Section III juxtaposes other forms of privileged attorney-client contact with inmate emailing, and discusses the confidentiality agreement provided through the prison email system, TRULINCS. Finally, Section IV proposes a fiscally responsible, efficient, and convenient solution to the possible extension of the attorney-client privilege to …

Taking A Bite Out Of Forensic Science: The Misuse Of Accelerant-Detecting Dogs In Arson Cases, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1149 (2015), Andrew Scott

UIC Law Review

This Comment identifies the proper uses of canine handler teams in arson investigations and trials. Part II discusses the origins of forensic science in criminal trials, the use of expert witnesses in the courtroom, the history and role of forensic science and canine handler teams in arson cases, and the problem of “junk science.” Part III analyzes the pros and cons of using canine handler teams in arson investigations and the dilemma courts face when confronted with unconfirmed canine alerts. Part IV resolves the issue of using canine handler teams in arson investigations. First, it advocates for their continued use …

The Complexity Of International Criminal Trials Is Necessary, 48 Geo. Wash. Int'l L. Rev. 151 (2015), Stuart Ford

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

There is a widespread belief among both academics and policymakers that international criminal trials are too complex. As a result, tribunals have come under enormous pressure to reduce the complexity of their trials. However, changes to trial procedure have not meaningfully affected trial complexity. This Article explains why these changes have failed and argues that the complexity of international criminal trials is necessary for them to achieve their purposes.

Using a multiple regression model of the factors driving trial complexity at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), this Article shows that the largest drivers of complexity are …

Free, But Still Behind Bars: Reading The Illinois Post-Conviction Hearing Act To Allow Any Person Convicted Of A Crime To Raise A Claim Of Actual Innocence, 35 B.C. J. L. & Soc. Just. 1 (2015), Hugh Mundy

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

As the number of wrongfully convicted prisoners who are subsequently exonerated continues to rise, the importance of access to post-conviction relief also increases. Under the Illinois Post-Conviction Hearing Act, this access is restricted to petitioners who are currently imprisoned or otherwise facing a restraint on their liberty. Persons convicted of a crime who have completed their sentence are barred from pursuing post-conviction relief under the Act, regardless of the existence of exculpatory evidence that supports their innocence. Removing this procedural roadblock and interpreting the Act broadly to allow any person convicted of a crime to raise a claim of actual …

Law Enforcement And White Power: An F.B.I. Report Unraveled, 41 T. Marshall L. Rev. 103 (2015), Samuel Vincent Jones

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

Because of intensifying civil strife over the recent killings of unarmed Black men, women, and boys, many Americans are wondering, “What's wrong with our police?” Remarkably, one of the most compelling but unexplored explanations may rest with an FBI warning of October, 2006, which reported that “[W]hite supremacist infiltration of law enforcement” represented a significant national threat.

Revisited 2015: Protection Of U.S. Trade Secret Assets: Critical Amendments To The Economic Espionage Act Of 1996, 14 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 476 (2015), R. Mark Halligan

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

In order to protect the national and economic interests of the United States, the Economic Espionage Act was enacted in 1996. Although intended to prevent and deter trade secret theft, the EEA is limited to criminal prosecutions. Critical amendments to the EEA are required to create a civil cause of action in the new information-based economy and the international marketplace. In 2008, the author recommended two critical amendments to the Economic Espionage Act that have been vetted and have been the subject of legislative proposals for the past 7 years. The author now revisits developments since 2008 and underscores the …

Membership Crime Vs. The Right To Assemble, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 729 (2015), Steven Morrison

UIC Law Review

The World War I (WWI) era generated the substantive First Amendment. Subsequent jurisprudence, however, has focused on the speech right and left the right to assemble underdeveloped. This is so because courts, lawyers, and scholars view the WWI cases as speech cases. In fact, these cases implicitly tested the assembly right more than they have been read to test the speech right because they involved “membership crime” – criminal conspiracy in federal and state courts, and criminal syndicalism at the state level. This Article uncovers the importance of the assembly right during the substantive First Amendment’s generation. It therefore serves …

Truth Stories: Credibility Determinations At The Illinois Torture Inquiry And Relief Commission, 45 Loy. U. Chi. L.J. 1085 (2014), Kim D. Chanbonpin

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

This is the first scholarly Article to investigate the inner workings of the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission (“TIRC”). The TIRC was established by statute in 2009 to provide legal redress for victims of police torture. Prisoners who claim that their convictions were based on confessions coerced by police torture can utilize the procedures available at the TIRC to obtain judicial review of their cases. For those who have exhausted all appeals and post-conviction remedies, the TIRC represents the tantalizing promise of justice long denied. To be eligible for relief, however, the claimant must first meet the TIRC’s strict …

The Invisible Women: Have Conceptions About Femininity Led To The Global Dominance Of The Female Human Trafficker?, 7 Alb. Gov't L. Rev. 143 (2014), Samuel Vincent Jones

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

Virtually no academic or media attention has been dedicated to female traffickers, or female delinquency, in general. Human trafficking, like other crimes, has been myopically constructed, marketed, and viewed through news reports, cinema, literature, and criminal statutes as a heinous male-perpetrated offense against women and girls, rendering the female trafficker practically invisible. This essay questions the soundness and viability of continued reliance on the female victim-male culprit paradigm, used by many countries to prevent human trafficking. It confronts contemporary assumptions about femininity, violence, and aggression, calling particular attention to American cultural suppositions about femaleness that have detrimentally influenced our capacity …

The Trayvon Martin Trial - Two Comments And An Observation, 47 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1371 (2014), Richard Delgado

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Stop Presumptive Transfers: How Forcing Juveniles To Prove They Should Remain In The Juvenile Justice System Is Inconsistent With Roper V. Simmons & Graham V. Florida, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 365 (2014), Rachel Fugett

UIC Law Review

Overly expansive juvenile transfer laws are inconsistent with the Court’s reasoning because their primary objective is to transfer juveniles into the adult criminal justice system solely for the purpose of punishing and sentencing them like adults. In so doing, expansive juvenile transfer laws, more often than not, largely ignore a juvenile’s diminished culpability and greater capacity for change.