Criminal Law Commons^™

Mental Health And Incarceration: What A Bad Combination, Olinda Moyd

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The District of Columbia has one of the highest per capita incarceration and criminal justice supervision rates in the United States1 and among the highest in the world. The local prison population has risen dramatically over the past decade for a variety of reasons including increased rates of re-incarceration for parole violations and the imposition of longer sentences for drug offenses. Recent acts of Congress have seriously impacted the sentencing laws in the District including determination of where persons sentenced for violating local D.C. laws will serve such sentences. On August 5, 1997, President Clinton signed into law The National …

I Want A Black Lawyer To Represent Me: Addressing A Black Defendant's Concerns With Being Assigned A White Court-Appointed Lawyer, Kenneth P. Troccoli

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

"I want a Black lawyer to represent me." These are the first words you hear after you introduce yourself to your new client. You have been appointed to represent this man on a criminal charge. You are white. He is Black. You answer that you are an experienced criminal lawyer and will represent him to the best of your ability, regardless of his or your race. He responds that he too is experienced with the criminal justice system-a system that targets Black men, like himself, for prosecution far more than whites, that sentences Black men to prison more frequently and …

Introduction To The Symposium: Homophobia In The Halls Of Justice: Sexual Orientation Bias And Its Implications Within The Legal System, Brenda V. Smith, Pamela Bridgewater

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The gay moment is unavoidable. -Andrew Kopkind

Gay activist, journalist and political commentator Andrew Kopkind made this profound observation at a critical moment in the queer rights movement, in the midst of the March on Washington, pride rallies, queer organizing and the ever strengthening movement to address the AIDS crisis within the queer community. The moment, however, meant different things to participants in the movement. Over the years, the queer or sexual liberation movement transformed itself into a much more equality-based movement with the most energy focused on securing recognition of gay marriage and equal access to the military. As …

Justice By The Numbers: The Supreme Court And The Rule Of Four-Or Is It Five?, Ira Robbins

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

INTRODUCTION: In the early hours of April 14, 2000, Robert Lee Tarver died in Alabama's electric chair, even though four Justices of the United States Supreme Court had voted to review the merits of his case. This situation is not unique. Each year, practitioners and pro se litigants alike petition the Supreme Court without fully knowing the rules pursuant to which the Court will decide their client's, or their own, fate. The reason is that the Supreme Court operates under two sets of rules-those that are published and those that are not. The former specify This Article is based on …

Lifesaving Welfare Safety Net Access For Battered Immigrant Women And Children: Accomplishments And Next Steps, Leslye Orloff

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The United States is currently experiencing one of the largest waves of immigration in its history. Contrary to common assumptions, more than half of new immigrants are women. Despite this fact, U.S. immigration policy and most agencies serving immigrants have remained blind to gender differences and have treated all immigrants alike.

Reconciling Amnesties With Universal Jurisdiction - A Reply To Mr. Phenyo Keiseng Rakate, Juan E. Mendez, Garth Meintjes

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

The American Prosecutor: Independence, Power, And The Threat Of Tyranny, Angela J. Davis

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This Article compares the power, practices, and policies of the Independent Counsel with those of ordinary state and federal prosecutors and suggests that the purported distinctions turn out to be illusory. Part I charts the principal structural characteristics of the Independent Counsel and regular prosecutors, with particular focus on prosecutorial discretion and the charging power. This section notes the public outrage over former Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr and argues that the American prosecutor deserves similar scrutiny. Using illustrations from the author’s former experience as a public defender, this Part explains how regular prosecutors engage in the same acts of misconduct …

The Legacy Of Geographical Morality And Colonialism: A Historical Assessment Of The Current Crusade Against Corruption, Padideh Ala'i

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This Article examines the legacy of the rule of geographical morality - that is the norm by which a citizen of the country in the North may engage in acts of corruption in any country in the South, including bribery and extortion, without the attachment of any moral condemnation to those acts. Part I of the Article begins by reviewing the impeachment trial of Warren Hastings, who served as Governor General of the Bengal from 1772-1785, on charges of bribery and corruption. It was during that impeachment proceeding when the words "principles of geographical morality" were used by, the prosectuor, …

Reconciling Amnesties With Universal Jurisdiction, Juan E. Mendez, Garth Meintjes

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

The Bill Of Rights And The Constitution: Facing The Challenge Of The Future, Stephen Wermiel

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Judicial Lobbying At The Wto: The Debate Over The Use Of Amicus Curiae Briefs And The U.S. Experience, Padideh Ala'i

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The continuing debate over the use of amicus curiae briefs at the World Trade Organization (“WTO”) raises interesting questions about the influence of the U.S. legal system on the WTO dispute settlement process. Specifically, it brings to the surface differences between legal cultures and the fact that the U.S. legal culture with its emphasis on procedure is not readily transferable to the WTO. Comparing the controversy regarding the use of amicus curiae briefs before WTO Panels and the Appellate Body with the history and evolution of the institution of amicus curiae before the U.S. Supreme Court may help explain the …

Managed Health Care In Prisons As Cruel And Unusual Punishment, Ira Robbins

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

INTRODUCTION: Billy Roberts, a prisoner in an Alabama state prison, had a history of severe psychiatric disorders. He was often put on suicide watch, and received large doses of psychotropic drugs. A managed health care company, Correctional Medical Services (CMS), was responsible for the health care at the prison. After Roberts had a suicidal episode, CMS's statewide mental health care director reportedly put Roberts in an isolation cell rather than a psychiatric care unit. The mental health care director also ordered that Roberts' medication be discontinued pursuant to an alleged policy of CMS to get as many prisoners off psycho- …

Politics By Other Means: The Law Of The International Criminal Court, Diane Orentlicher

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Prosecution And Race: The Power And Privilege Of Discretion, Angela J. Davis

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This article examines prosecutorial discretion and argues it is a major cause of racial inequality in the criminal justice system. It asserts that prosecutorial discretion may instead be used to construct effective solutions to racial injustice. The article maintains that since prosecutors have more power than any other criminal justice officials, with practically no corresponding accountability to the public they serve, they have the responsibility to use their discretion to help eradicate the discriminatory treatment of African Americans in the criminal justice system.

Part I of the Article explains the importance and impact of the prosecution function. Part II discusses …

Wielding The Double-Edge Sword: Charles Hamilton Houston And Judicial Activism In The Age Of Legal Realism, Roger Fairfax

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

A new progressive movement in the law profoundly affected the American judicial climate of the 1930s and 1940s. The jurisprudence of American Legal Realism, which sprang from the progressive American sociological jurisprudence, boasted the adherence of some of America's most influential legal minds. Legal Realism, which complemented the New Deal reform legislation emerging in the 1930s, advocated judicial deference to legislative and administrative channels on matters of social and economic policy. Judicial activism, which had been used as a tool for the protection of economic rights since the late nineteenth century, was seen as inimical to progressive social reform and, …

Task Force Statement Of The Twentieth Century Fund's Task Force On Apprehending Indicted War Criminals: Meeting The Obligations Of Justice, Paul Williams

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Redirecting The Debate Over Trafficking In Women: Definitions, Paradigms, And Contexts, Janie Chuang

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Using International Human Rights Law And Machinery In Defending Borderless Crime Cases, Richard J. Wilson

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This Essay focuses on four areas of international human rights law. The first area, the protection of attorneys’ fees from forfeiture, is an issue of great concern in the United States, given the state of the law there. The next area, the application of the death penalty in international law, will also include arguments about the “death row phenomenon.” The third area addressed is the use of international human rights law to overcome the rule of non-inquiry in extradition matters, a rule by which the judicial authority reviewing the propriety of extradition is barred from inquiry into the fairness of …

Swapping Amnesty For Peace And The Duty To Prosecute Human Rights Crimes, Diane Orentlicher

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

International Criminal Law And The Cambodian Killing Fields, Diane Orentlicher

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Race, Cops, And Traffic Stops, Angela J. Davis

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This article discusses the Supreme Court's failure to provide a clear and effective remedy for discriminatory pretextual traffic stops. The first part explores the discretionary nature of pretextual stops and their discriminatory effect on African-Americans and Latinos. Then, the article examines Whren v. United States, a Supreme Court case in which the petitioners claimed that these “pretextual stops” violate the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution and are racially discriminatory. The Supreme Court rejected the claim, upholding the constitutionality of pretextual stops based on probable cause and noting that claims of racial discrimination must be challenged under the Equal Protection Clause. …

Crime And Punishment: Benign Neglect Of Racism In The Criminal Justice System, Angela J. Davis

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This article is a literary review and analysis of Malign Neglect: Race, Crime, and Punishment in America by Michael Tonry (1995). Part I of this review describes Tonry's analysis of the crime policies of the Reagan and Bush administrations. Part II discusses Tonry's indictment of the War on Drugs and criticizes his failure to acknowledge the effects of discriminatory prosecutorial practices and sentencing laws. Part III critiques Tonry's trivialization of the significance of race discrimination in the criminal justice system more generally. Part IV summarizes Tonry's proposals for change and stresses the importance of documenting, examining, and eliminating racial bias …

George Bush's America Meets Dante's Inferno: The Americans With Disabilities Act In Prison, Ira Robbins

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Introduction: The conditions in America's correctional facilities have long been cause for concern. Even those who do not advocate a comfortable quality of life for inmates recognize that basic problems such as overcrowding, inmate violence,' inadequate staffing,2 and increasing costs of building and maintaining prisons have approached crisis levels. Meanwhile, the prison population continues to swell. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the United States Department of Justice, the number of prisoners incarcerated at state and federal prisons annually has grown at a rate of 8.4% in recent years.'

The Deliberate Contruction Of Families Without Fathers: Is It An Option For Lesbian And Heterosexual Mothers, Nancy Polikoff

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Garbage In: Emerging Media And Regulation Of Unsolicited Commercial Solicitiations, Michael W. Carroll

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Computer-Related Crimes, Michael W. Carroll

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Addressing Gross Human Rights Abuses: Punishment And Victim Compensation, Diane Orentlicher

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

No Justice, No Peace: Accountability For Rape And Gender-Based Violence In The Former Yugoslavia, Diane Orentlicher

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The Women in the Law Project of the International Human Rights Law Group (Law Group) sponsored a delegation to the former Yugoslavia from February 14 to 22, 1993. The delegation, which was also endorsed by the Bar Association of San Francisco, had two principal objectives.

The Revitalization Of The Common-Law Civil Writ Of Audita Querela As A Post-Conviction Remedy In Criminal Cases: The Immigration Context And Beyond, Ira Robbins

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Introduction: An alien lawfully enters the United States in 1972. He gets a job, gets married, and becomes a productive worker in the community. He is subsequently convicted of a felony, such as making false statements on a loan application. As a result, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) brings deportation proceedings against him. The individual will seek any means possible to vacate the conviction, in order to stay in this country.' This Article explores whether the writ of audita querela. primarily used to provide post-judgment relief in civil cases at common law, can be used to challenge criminal …

Settling Accounts: The Duty To Prosecute Human Rights Violations Of A Prior Regime, Diane Orentlicher

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.