Criminal Law Commons^™

Text, Context And The Problem With Rape, Katharine K. Baker

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No abstract provided.

Spain Returns To Trial By Jury, Stephen C. Thaman

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In 1995, the Spanish Parliament reenacted trial by jury in criminal cases by implementing a mandate of the 1978 post Franco Spanish Constitution. This article discusses the 17 year dispute, following the ratification of the democratic post-Franco Spanish Constitution, on whether Article 25 mandated the reintroduction of lay participation in the criminal trial, and, if so, whether in the form of the classic jury or a continental European style court with lay assessors. This article analyzes the Law on Trial by Jury and its implementation in the first year of trials, and references Spain’s experience with trial by jury in …

The Jury Returns To Continental Europe: Russia And Spain Return To The Classic Jury As A Catalyst In A Move To A More Adversary Form Of Criminal Trial, Stephen C. Thaman

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This paper briefly compares the provisions of the Russian Jury Law of 1993 and the Spanish Jury Law of 1995 and their application in the first trials, with special attention to the effect of the re-injection of a classic jury. Citations in regard to Russia rely on the author’s exhaustive study of the legislative history of the new Russian Jury Law, its provisions, and its application in the first 114 trials in the years 1993-1994. The Spanish discussion relies on information gathered by the author on the first trials held in Spain since the law went into effect, and delves …

Computer Crimes Now On The Books: What Do We Do From Here? (Symposium), Henry H. Perritt Jr.

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No abstract provided.

Should Bouie Be Buoyed? Judicial Retroactive Lawmaking And The Ex Post Facto Clause (Symposium), Harold J. Krent

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No abstract provided.

Once A Rapist? Motivational Evidence And Relevancy In Rape Law, Katharine K. Baker

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No abstract provided.

Will The Punishment Fit The Victims? The Case For Pre-Trial Disclosure, And The Uncharted Future Of Victim Impact Information In Capital Jury Sentencing, José F. Anderson

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The United States Supreme Court decision in Payne v. Tennessee, upholding the use of victim impact statements in capital jury sentencing proceedings, marked one of the most dramatic reversals of a precedent in the history of United States constitutional jurisprudence. The decision in Payne expressly overruled Booth v. Maryland decided only four years earlier. The Booth case rejected the use of victim impact statements in capital sentencing cases that involved juries. In Payne, the Supreme Court made it clear that victims were entitled to offer, and juries were permitted to consider, the effect that a "death eligible" homicide had on …

Waiting For The Verdict On Spain's New Jury System, Stephen C. Thaman

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This article discusses Spain’s history of trial by jury, focusing on the reinstatement of trial by jury in Spain by the 1995 jury legislation implementing Article 125 of the post-Franco Spanish Constitution. It discusses key provisions of the new Spanish jury law with illustrations from the cases of Otegi and others. It also predicts as to whether the classic jury will acquit itself as a catalyst for criminal justice reform in a Civil Law system such as that of Spain.

The Jury As Catalyst For The Reform Of Criminal Evidentiary Procedure In Continental Europe: The Cases Of Russia And Spain, Stephen C. Thaman

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This paper focuses on the dialectic between the search for truth, adversarial procedure, and lay participation in the preparation, presentation, and evaluation of evidence in criminal trials. Its primary focus is on the reintroduction of trial by jury in two classic inquisitorial criminal justice systems, Russia (1993) and Spain (1995), as a catalyst in those countries’ move to adversary procedure. It focuses on the effect of the jury system on preparing evidence for trial, the presentation of evidence at trial, and the evaluation of evidence.

Consistently Inconsistent: The Supreme Court And The Confusion Surrounding Proportionality In Non-Capital Sentencing, Steven P. Grossman

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(Adapted by permission from 84 Ky. L. J. 107 (1995)) This article examines the Supreme Court's treatment of the Eighth Amendment with respect to claims of excessiveness regarding prison sentences. Specifically, it addresses the issue of whether and to what degree the Eighth Amendment requires that a punishment not be disproportional to the crime punished. In analyzing all of the modern holdings of the Court in this area, one finds significant fault with each. The result of this series of flawed opinions from the Supreme Court is that the state of the law with respect to proportionality in sentencing is …

Reform Of The Procuracy And Bar In Russia, Stephen C. Thaman

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This article discusses recent efforts to reform the Russian bar and procuracy, the institutions’ responses, and the problem of criminal procedure reform as it relates to them.

New Federal Rules In Sex Offense Cases, Lynn Mclain

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This article from the November/December 1995 issue of the Maryland Bar Journal details the changes made to the Federal Rules of Evidence following the enactment of the 1994 Comprehensive Crime Bill. Questions raised by the new rules and the response of the Judicial Conference are also discussed.

No Magic Formula: A New Approach For Calculating The Ten Year Time Period For Admission Of Prior Conviction Evidence, Amy E. Sloan

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Federal Rule of Evidence (FRE) 609 governs admission of prior conviction evidence. Under this rule, it is easier to admit evidence of a prior conviction that is less than ten years old than to admit evidence of older convictions. The ten year period is measured from the later of either the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement.

Calculating the ten year period is fairly straightforward in most cases but becomes confusing when the witness has been confined for violating the terms of probation, parole, or some other period of conditional release. Does the confinement for violation …

A Regime Of Social Death: Criminal Punishment In The Age Of Prisons, Stephen D. Sowle

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No abstract provided.

The Resurrection Of Trial By Jury In Russia, Stephen C. Thaman

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This article traces the genesis of the Russian jury law of July 16, 1993, and places it in the context of the criminal justice reform movement that began during the perestroika period. This article analyzes and evaluates the Jury Law on the basis of the first Russian jury trials. The purpose of this article is to isolate certain problem areas and pose questions, which must be answered in the future.

Much of the material for this paper results from the author’s personal observation of eleven of the first fourteen jury trials and parts of four more trials. The author also …

Trial By Jury And The Constitutional Rights Of The Accused In Russia, Stephen C. Thaman

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This article discusses the Russian criminal justice system’s transformation from the unjust Soviet system and the introduction of trial by jury. It specifically addresses the role of supplementary investigations in the new adversary procedure and the newly introduced privilege against self-incrimination. The author concludes that even though reforms have improved the Russian criminal justice system, elements of the Soviet system, such as supplementary investigations, remain, undermining the purpose of the new system.

Proportionality In Non-Capital Sentencing: The Supreme Court's Tortured Approach To Cruel And Unusual Punishment, Steven P. Grossman

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This Article examines the Supreme Court's treatment of the Eighth Amendment with respect to claims of excessive prison sentences. Specifically, it addresses the issue of whether and to what degree the Eighth Amendment requires that a punishment not be disproportionate to the crime. In analyzing all of the modern holdings of the Court in this area, this Article finds significant fault with each. The result of this series of flawed opinions from the Supreme Court is that the state of the law with respect to proportionality in sentencing is confused, and what law can be discerned rests on weak foundations. …

Foundations Of The Duty To Rescue, Steven J. Heyman

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No abstract provided.

Recognizing Violence Against Women: Gender And The Hate Crimes Statistics Act, Elizabeth Pendo

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This article argues that acts of gender-based violence should be recognized under the Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990, and that certain types of violence against women, such as rape, are fundamentally gender-based. Part I examines the existing definition of hate crimes under the HCSA, and the exclusion of the majority of violence against women. Part II suggests gender should be included as a category under the HCSA because of the similar effects of violence directed at women due to gender, and violence directed at members of other groups because of their group identity. Using acquaintance rape as an example, …

Mercy Killing And The Right To Inherit, Jeffrey G. Sherman

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No abstract provided.

Liberalism And The Criminal Law, Richard Warner

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No abstract provided.

Challenging Public Investigative Reports: How To Fight The Hearsay Exception, Steven P. Grossman, Stephen J. Shapiro

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This paper discusses how attorneys can argue against having government and public reports admitted into evidence at trial that would be damaging to their client. When this paper was done, such reports were admitted via Federal Rule of Evidence 803(8)(C). The authors argue that it is possible to challenge admission of factual findings in public reports despite various court decisions which make this difficult.

The Admission Of Government Fact Findings Under Federal Rule Of Evidence 803(8)(C): Limiting The Dangers Of Unreliable Hearsay, Steven P. Grossman, Stephen J. Shapiro

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Federal Rule of Evidence 803(8)(C), an exception to the rule against admission of hearsay, permits introduction of public records or reports containing the fact findings of the reporter without requiring the reporter to appear at trial. These fact findings can be based upon the reporter's own observations and calculations or information imparted to the reporter from sources having no connection to any public agency whatsoever. Rule 803(8)(C) has also been used as the vehicle for presenting juries with fact findings from hearings conducted by public officials. The rule would seem to allow these fact findings even though the opponent had …

The Doctrine Of Inevitable Discovery: A Plea For Reasonable Limitations, Steven P. Grossman

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In reinstating the Iowa murder conviction of Robert Williams, the Supreme Court accepted explicitly for the first time the doctrine of inevitable discovery. Applied for some time by state and federal courts, the doctrine of inevitable discovery is a means by which evidence obtained illegally can still be admitted against defendants in criminal cases. Unfortunately, the Court chose to adopt the doctrine without any of the safeguards necessary to insure that the deterrent impact of the exclusionary rule would be preserved, and in a form that is subject to and almost invites abuse.

This article warns of the danger to …

Note: United States V. Harvey: Are Criminal Defense Fees More Vulnerable Than Necessary?, Eric Easton

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In United States v. Harvey, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that Congress may not constitutionally require convicted racketeers and drug traffickers to forfeit property used to pay legitimate defense attorney fees. To the extent that such forfeitures and related pre-conviction restraints on transfer are authorized by provisions of the Comprehensive Forfeiture Act of 1984 (the Act), those provisions violate an accused's right to counsel of choice as secured by the Sixth Amendment.This article argues that the court's holding in Harvey was more narrowly drawn than necessary, and that as a consequence criminal defense attorney …

Whatever Happened To The "Right To Know?": The Right Of Access To Government-Controlled Information Since Richmond Newspapers On Those Who Don't, Michael Hayes

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No abstract provided.

A Uniform Limitations Period For Civil Rico, Elizabeth De Armond

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No abstract provided.

Criminal Justice Issues In Revolutionary Nicaragua, Stephen C. Thaman

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In this article, the author discusses his experiences traveling to Nicaragua in May 1985, as a part of a group of American lawyers and law professors invited by the Nicaraguan Association of Democratic Justice to consult on the judicial process, as well as a revolutionary struggle within the Nicaraguan institutions responsible for criminal justice. This article addresses current criminal procedure, special tribunals, and popular anti-Somocista tribunals. It also discusses a pilot project geared to improve criminal justice issues in Nicaragua.

Commentary: Rummel V. Estelle: Mockingbirds Among The Brethren, Kenneth Lasson

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In this commentary Professor Lasson discusses the Supreme Court's decision in Rummel v. Estelle and reveals a poignant personal memorandum that reflects the analysis of human values necessarily performed by whichever Justice cast the deciding vote.

Constitutionalizing Forfeiture Law—The German Example, James Maxeiner

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This article demonstrates how German criminal law has made forfeiture of objects used in crime consistent with constitutional guarantees.