Criminal Law Commons^™

The Fate Of “Megan’S Law” In New York, Alison Virag Greissman

Cardozo Law Review

Sexual crimes disgust, anger, and frighten Americans in a way that no other human act does. The transgressions of sex offenders leave victims with lifelong scars and violate society's most fundamental notions of right and wrong. Indeed, husbands beating their wives with frying pans, boyfriends punching their girlfriends with their fists, and men striking women with kitchen chairs and baseball bats in every city of our country are atrocities. Although barbaric, these examples of violent and often fatal attacks are not of the same nature as an assault in which a man desecrates a woman by invading the most intimate …

Golan V. Prisons Service, Eliahu Mazza, Mishael Cheshin, Dalia Dorner

Translated Opinions

Facts: The appellant asked the respondent for permission to publish articles about prison life in a local newspaper. The respondent refused. The appellant filed a petition in the District Court against this refusal, but his petition was rejected. Leave was given to appeal the District Court’s decision to the Supreme Court.

Held: (Majority opinion — Justices E. Mazza, D. Dorner) The respondent has a duty to uphold human rights, and it must make reasonable efforts and devote reasonable resources to do this.

(Minority opinion — Justice M. Cheshin) The respondent’s argument that it is not its task to censor newspaper …

The Good Polity Today Constituting Law And Society After The Cold War, Graham Walker

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article explores the challenges of constructing a just and livable political society in the post-Cold War era, focusing on the tension between the global aspiration for liberal democracy and the resurgence of ethnic, religious, and moral claims. It examines how these competing forces shape political reconstruction and the search for a "good polity," emphasizing the need to learn from contemporary experiences and theoretical reflections.

The Evidentiary Burden In Establishing An Article 3(A) Defense To Extradition In Light Of In Re The Requested Extradition Of James Joseph Smyth, A Case Of First Impression, Leslie A. Firtell

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note examines the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision in the case of James Joseph Smyth, which centered on the interpretation and application of Article 3a of the Supplementary Extradition Treaty between the US and the UK. The court overturned the lower court's ruling, holding that Smyth failed to meet the evidentiary burden required to establish a defense against extradition under Article 3a. The decision highlights the challenges of proving future mistreatment based on race, religion, nationality, or political opinions, emphasizing the need for individualized evidence rather than systemic concerns.

The Puerto Rican Independentistas: Combatants In The Fight For Self-Determination And The Right To Prisoner Of War Status, Lisa Napoli

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Why Mandatory Hiv Testing Of Pregnant Women And Newborns Must Fail: A Legal, Historical, And Public Policy Analysis, Elizabeth B. Cooper

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article argues that mandatory HIV testing of pregnant women and newborns is a misguided policy that fails to address the complex medical, social, and legal issues surrounding HIV/AIDS in women. It contends that such policies violate constitutional rights, disproportionately affect marginalized communities, and are unsupported by medical evidence. The analysis emphasizes the importance of voluntary testing linked to care and services, as well as the need to address systemic inequities in healthcare delivery.

The Victim-Plaintiff In Criminal Trials And Civil Law Responses To Sexual Violence, Alexandra Goy

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article examines the role of the victim-plaintiff in German criminal trials, particularly in cases involving sexual violence. It highlights the unique procedural rights granted to victim-plaintiffs, such as the ability to participate actively in trials and present evidence. However, the analysis reveals significant practical and systemic barriers that limit the effectiveness of this institution, including restrictive evidentiary rules, financial challenges, and gender biases within the judiciary. The article argues that while the victim-plaintiff institution offers opportunities for victims to seek justice, its impact is undermined by these obstacles, raising concerns about the protection of sexual autonomy and gender equality …

Prostitution And The Law In Germany, Margarete Von Galen

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article examines the legal and social contradictions surrounding prostitution in Germany, highlighting how, despite its legal status, the practice is subject to discriminatory laws and regulations that create a hypocritical gap between legal frameworks and real-world enforcement. The author argues that while prostitution is legal, the surrounding legal provisions often criminalize related activities, leading to inconsistent enforcement and continued marginalization of sex workers.

Ice Patch On The Information Superhighway: Foreign Liability For Domestically Created Content, Alexander Gigante

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Blocking Preemption: Convergence, Privacy, And The Fcc's Misguided Regulation Of Caller Id, Laura V. Eng

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Susan Smith And Other Homicidal Mothers-In Search Of The Punishment That Fits The Crime, Janet Ford

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The legal system should consider unique circumstances when sentencing mothers who kill their children, focusing on mitigating factors such as mental state, abuse history, and societal pressures, rather than applying uniform punishments.

The Mark Of Cain: No Second Chance For Teachers Convicted Of Sex Offenses Against Students, Eric J. Kuperman

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that teachers convicted of sex offenses against students should be subject to a national registration and notification system, akin to Megan's Law, due to the inadequacy of current systems in preventing these individuals from continuing to teach and offending again. The author emphasizes the need to protect children from sexual predators in educational settings, highlighting the failure of schools and courts to effectively address the issue.

The Future Of The Past: Recovering Cultural Property, Lawrence M. Kaye

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article addresses the legal challenges and evolving frameworks for recovering stolen cultural property, emphasizing the interplay between national and international laws. It argues that while significant progress has been made, particularly in the U.S., through judicial precedents and international conventions like the 1970 UNESCO and 1995 UNIDROIT Conventions, a unified global response is essential to combat the illicit trade effectively.

Structures Of Environmental Criminal Enforcement, Michael E. Herz

Articles

No abstract provided.

The Right To Self-Defense Once The Security Council Takes Action, Malvina Halberstam

Articles

No abstract provided.

“A One Way Ticket To Palookaville”: Supreme Court Takings Jurisprudence After Dolan And Its Implication For New York City’S Waterfront Zoning Resolution, Jill Illan Berger Inbar

Cardozo Law Review

This Note will use the Waterfront Ordinance as a vehicle for examining the new heightened scrutiny standard introduced in Dolan. Part I provides an overview of takings jurisprudence and the traditional pre-Nollan and pre-Dolan standards, which were applied to determine whether an exercise of police power oversteps its bounds and interferes with private property rights guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment. Part II reviews the new standards espoused by the Supreme Court in Nollan and Dolan. Part III describes the purpose of New York City's 1993. Waterfront Zoning Ordinance and discusses its history, objectives, and provisions. Part …

She’S Gotta Have It Now: A Qualified Rape Crisis Counselor-Victim Privilege, Euphemia B. Warren

Cardozo Law Review

This Note analyzes the justifications for a testimonial privilege for communications between a rape victim and her counselor. More importantly, it contends that a qualified privilege sufficiently protects the counselor-victim relationship and the rape victim's need for confidentiality, while at the same time securing the defendant's Sixth Amendment rights. This Note endorses a qualified privilege that requires a specific showing by the defendant that the information he seeks might be helpful to his case before the trial judge will conduct an in camera inspection of the confidential rape counseling records. In the in camera review, the judge will determine whether …

The Reach Of Rights In The New Russian Constitution, Antti Korkeakivi

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The new Russian Constitution incorporates a comprehensive catalogue of human rights, largely mirroring international standards and Western democracies, while retaining elements influenced by Soviet tradition. It rejects the socialist notion that rights are state-granted, declaring them inalienable and innate. However, the Constitution’s effectiveness in protecting these rights remains uncertain, as its success hinges on the judiciary’s ability to enforce them independently, despite historical weaknesses and ongoing concerns about judicial autonomy.

Legal And Political Hermeneutics, Or Principles Of Interpretation And Construction In Law And Politics, With Remarks On Precedents And Authorities, Francis Lieber

Cardozo Law Review

The second edition of the Hermeneutics was published in 1839, and has now been out of print for almost forty years. In 1860 Dr. Lieber carefully revised it, and made additions to both text and notes, expecting to publish a third edition, with a second part, of "Special Hermeneutics, or Legal Rules of Interpretation and Construction," by an eminent member of the New York Bar, Mr. William Curtis Noyes. This plan, however, was not carried out, and Mr. Noyes died December 25, 1863, without having written his proposed part. The text of the present edition, and Dr. Lieber's own notes, …

Critiquing The Legal Order In The Name Of “Critical Morality”, Julius Cohen

Cardozo Law Review

The moral criticism of the legal order has been a longtime sport (serious), if not an industry, for law teachers, theorists, judges, and other legal functionaries. In the process, they often reach for criteria beyond those utilized in conventional morality. Sometimes the reach "beyond" is ad hoc; sometimes it is accompanied by an awareness that it is toward a pattern of a higher-level, critical morality. The reach beyond is often triggered by a need to resolve conflicts within conventional morality. Or it is a function of the distrust of some of the sources of conventional morality, such as prejudice, unrefined …

The Other Dimension Of Law, Pierre Legendre

Cardozo Law Review

What kind of a questioning would make it possible for psychoanalysis to become theoretically useful for jurists? How could such a questioning have an effect on the practice of law? In the same measure, is it theoretically plausible for psychoanalysts, attached as they are to their own casuistry, to interrogate the law? What must be recognized from the start, if this questioning is to be more than superficial, is that the intellectual and social dogmas of today are obstacles to the liberty of thought [esprit].

The Invisible Cupola: From Casual To Collective Attribution In Ecological Liability, Gunther Teubner

Cardozo Law Review

When I speak about the cupola, it is not Brunelleschi's architectural masterpiece crowning the Florentine duomo that appears before my eyes. Rather, I see the ugly architecture of organized crime, the brutal supersecret "cupola" on top of the Mafia's hierarchy which overshadows social life in Italy. Does this cupola exist or not? Over the recent years, the Mafia's cupola has been the object of a bitter struggle between Italian judges. While the lower courts have been sending numerous mafiosi to prison because they were part of the invisible cupola controlling "tutti i grandi delitti," the court of the next instance …

The Partial Republican, John O. Mcginnis

Articles

No abstract provided.

Never Again? The "Concentration Camps" In Bosnia-Herzegovina: A Legal Analysis Of Human Rights Abuses, Alan C. Laifer

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note draws parallels between the atrocities committed during the Holocaust and the ongoing violence in Bosnia, emphasizing the need for international accountability. It advocates for the establishment of a War Crimes Tribunal, modeled after the Nuremberg Tribunal, to prosecute individuals responsible for genocide and other war crimes. The analysis critiques the international community’s inaction and underscores the importance of upholding international law to prevent future atrocities.

Table Of Contents - Cardozo Law Review, Volume 15, Issues 6-7

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Meaning Of Daubert And What That Means For Forensic Science, Randolph N. Jonakait

Cardozo Law Review

Daubert's effect on forensic science is unclear because the opinion is unclear. The Daubert Court did start blazing a useful path by stating that before scientific testimony is admitted, the trial court must be convinced that "the reasoning or methodology underlying the testimony is scientifically valid and ... that [the] reasoning or methodology properly can be applied to the facts in issue." But the Court's trailblazing was incomplete and often misleading.

Daubert: Interpreting The Federal Rules Of Evidence, Paul C. Giannelli

Cardozo Law Review

In 1992 Judge Becker and Professor Orenstein referred to the Frye issue - the admissibility of novel scientific evidence-as the "most controversial and important unresolved question" in the Federal Rules of Evidence. Indeed, during the prior decade the federal courts had battled over the issue, as had their state counterparts. Similarly, text writers and law review commentators vigorously disagreed about the proper standard for admitting scientific evidence. While one ABA report on the Federal Rules explored the Frye issue and concluded that it "is not clear that any standard would produce agreement at the moment," another report cited it as …

Impeachment By Conviction Evidence: Judicial Discretion And The Politics Of Rule 609, Victor Gold

Cardozo Law Review

No provision of the Federal Rules of Evidence has sparked more controversy than Rule 609, which deals with the admissibility of convictions to impeach a witness. When first proposed, the provision was the subject of fierce debate, sparking repeated revision during its drafting and while it was under consideration by Congress. Ultimately, no one side in this legislative battle prevailed entirely; the Rule strikes a compromise between sharply conflicting policies. The text of Rule 609, incorporating no less than three balancing tests, two references to fairness, one to justice, and several other undefined terms, leaves the task of resolving the …

The Next Step After Daubert: Developing A Similarly Epistemological Approach To Ensuring The Reliability Of Nonscientific Expert Testimony, Edward J. Imwinkelried

Cardozo Law Review

On June 28, 1993, after much fanfare, the United States Supreme Court rendered its decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The decision was not only preceded by intense media attention; the decision was also immediately followed by a massive-and growing-volume of commentary. As is usually true with landmark decisions, it is imperative to identify what the Court decided and what the Court left unresolved.

Justice Byron White And The Argument That The Greater Includes The Lesser, Michael E. Herz

Articles

No abstract provided.