Criminal Law Commons^™

African American Perceptions Of Police Misconduct And Accountability, Ronald Weitzer, Rod K. Brunson

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"This article examines city residents’ reported experiences with and perceptions of various forms of police misconduct as well as their perspectives on two types of accountability mechanisms: internal and external to the police department. The data are derived from in-depth interviews with adult African American residents of the city. Our findings highlight the complexities involved in establishing credible citizen-led review boards, particularly in the types of cities such as the one examined here, East St. Louis. Survey research reveals that a majority of the public supports the principle of external oversight, but this general support may be diluted in settings …

Sex Offenders And Campus-Based Sex Offender Registration: Stigma, Vulnerability, Isolation, And The Classroom As Refuge, Richard Tewksbury

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Inclusion on the sex offender registration list is well known to produce stigma, collateral consequences, stress, and feelings of vulnerability for offenders. In addition to state-based registries, a number of institution-specific registries are beginning to appear, including those on college campuses. By using in-depth interviews with a sample of sex offenders listed on a campus-specific sex offender registry, this study explores the experiences resulting from this label. Findings highlight the feeling of vulnerability listing imposes, as well as self-isolating efforts designed to manage the possibility of identification, exposure, and confrontation. The interactional limitations, as well as the unintended consequence of …

“Hidden In Plain Sight”: Locating The Men And Women Of The 1954 Boston Special Youth Program, Richard K. Moule Jr., Scott H. Decker

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"The growing prevalence of longitudinal research in the social sciences, coupled with technological advances, provide new opportunities for researchers to more readily find participants from earlier studies. In addition, these advances necessitate the development of new strategies and methodologies for locating and building rapport with respondents. Drawing on previous methods of subject identification and location, this paper examines techniques for locating and interviewing former gang members from the 1954-1957 Special Youth Program in Roxbury, MA. In contrast to most longitudinal studies, (1) more than 50 years have passed since the original study with no contact with respondents in the interim, …

Motivation To Reduce Risk Behaviors While In Prison: Qualitative Analysis Of Interviews With Current And Formerly Incarcerated Women, Neetu Abad, Monique Carry, Jeffrey H. Herbst, Catherine I. Fogel

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Prison is an environment in which programs can be implemented to change harmful behaviors among high-risk populations. Incarcerated women experience high rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), yet little research has examined women’s motivation to reduce risky behaviors during incarceration. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with former and current women prisoners in two North Carolina correctional facilities and analyzed to identify barriers and facilitators of behavior change while in prison. Analyses revealed key motivators of behavior change: Viewing prison as a place to recover from past trauma, removing oneself from negative social networks, gaining access to needed …

Miriam Boeri, Women On Ice: Methamphetamine Use Among Suburban Women, Karen Mcelrath

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Some readers fail to read the preface to a book, eager to step inside the chapters. I began with the preface to Women on Ice and then returned to it after I had read the book in its entirety. The preface provides the reader with a brief but important snapshot of Miriam Boeri as an author and one whose family, like so many others, has experienced addiction. These life events shaped her interest in studying people who experience problems with psychoactive drug use. Moreover, authors who share this kind of “private trouble” help to de-stigmatize drug addiction (see also, the …

Barrett, C.J., Courting Kids: Inside An Experimental Youth Court, Avi Brisman

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the United States witnessed a small increase in youth violence, particularly a rise in gun violence among young African-American urban males. This spike in gun violence was localized and primarily linked to turmoil surrounding the introduction of crack cocaine into many cities around the country—metropolitan areas that were already experiencing crushing economic pressures, unemployment, and decaying neighborhoods. There was no evidence of an overall nationwide surge in “youth crime” or “juvenile crime”—terms that became conflated with serious “youth violence,” which, in turn, became code for “dangerous young black or brown men.” Despite this …

Ronald Weitzer, Legalizing Prostitution: From Illicit Vice To Lawful Business, Tammy Castle

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Dr. Ronald Weitzer is considered an expert on the sex industry, having studied prostitution for over a decade. In his latest book, Legalizing Prostitution: From Illicit Vice to Lawful Business, Weitzer provides a comprehensive examination of the myriad dimensions of sex work by drawing on both past research and his own ethnographic field work. Not only does he shatter prostitution myths by using empirical data, but also offers an alternative paradigm for understanding sex work that is theoretically grounded. In addition, he casts a critical eye on prostitution policies in the United States and proposes a “best practices” approach …

Stephanie C. Kane, Where Rivers Meet The Sea: The Political Ecology Of Water, Ashley K. Farmer

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Where Rivers Meet the Sea aims to explore how human beings have somehow created an environment that threatens the life-sustaining water systems that are such a natural, and perhaps taken for granted, part of their communities. Exploring rich cultural and historical contexts within two strikingly different South American neighborhoods, Stephanie C. Kane delves into how communities situated along bodies of water interact with and affect the human-water relationship. She pays particular attention to how culture, art, and race are intertwined with politics, crime, and governance."

Forced To Learn: Community-Based Correctional Education, Ron Mottern, C. Amelia Davis, Mary F. Ziegler

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Community-based correctional education has received scant attention in adult literacy research yet mandatory education is a growing part of the legal system and is fueled by research that suggests a link between correctional education and lower rates of recidivism. Growth in alternative to prison programs affects local ABE and GED programs. Adults who attend community-based correctional programs as a condition of their probation or parole face many challenges. The purpose of this existential-phenomenological study was to understand the experience of those adults. Findings describe students’ experiences of being forced to attend a GED program. Opening a space for these stories …

Jamie J. Fader, Falling Back: Incarceration And Transitions To Adulthood Among Urban Youth, Kallee Spooner

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"In her first book, Jamie J. Fader presents an account of a group of young black males attempting to “fall back,” or stay out of trouble, as they return from a juvenile residential corrections facility to their communities in Philadelphia. Prior to the study, Fader spent six years evaluating delinquency programs for the city of Philadelphia and over a year working at a communitybased aftercare program that assisted youth returning to the city from reform schools. Fader gained access and insight to the structure and processes of the juvenile court system, which facilitated her research."

Ometz – Citizens For Proper Administration And Social Justice In Israel V. Rochberger, Miriam Naor, Neal Hendel, Elyakim Rubinstein, Zvi Zylbertal, Esther Hayut, Edna Arbel, Asher Grunis

Translated Opinions

[This abstract is not part of the Court's opinion and is provided for the reader's convenience. It has been translated from a Hebrew version prepared by Nevo Press Ltd. and is used with its kind permission.]

Indictments were filed against Mr. Shimon Gapso, the Mayor of Nazareth Illit and Mr. Itzhak Rochberger, the Mayor of Ramat HaSharon. Mr. Gapso is accused of taking a bribe. Mr. Rochberger is accused of falsifying corporate documents and of fraud and violation of trust in a corporation. The city council of Nazareth Illit has decided, in a majority vote, not to relieve Mr. Gapso …

Summary Of In Re Steven Daniel P., 129 Nev. Adv. Op. 73, Geordan G. Logan

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined two issues: (1) whether the juvenile court has authority under NRS 62C.230(1)(a) to dismiss a delinquency petition and refer a juvenile for informal supervision pursuant to NRS 62C.200 without the written approval of the district attorney; and (2) whether the juvenile court's discretion in overseeing a juvenile matter is limited by the authority granted under the Nevada Revised Statutes.

Summary Of Paley V. Second Judicial District Court, 129 Nev. Adv. Op. 74, Alexandria K. Mendonca

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined whether it should consider petitioner’s writ of mandamus against a direct contempt order under an exception to the mootness doctrine.

Informal Collateral Consequences, Wayne A. Logan

Scholarly Publications

This essay fills an important gap in the national discussion now taking place with regard to collateral consequences, the broad array of non-penal disabilities attaching to criminal convictions. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s landmark 2010 decision in Padilla v. Kentucky, efforts are now underway to inventory collateral consequences imposed by state, local, and federal law. Only when the full gamut of such consequences is known, law reformers urge, can criminal defendants understand the actual impact of their decision to plead guilty.

The increased concern over collateral consequences, while surely welcome and important, has however been lacking in …

Symposium Foreword: Bombshell Or Baby Step? The Ramifications Of Miller V. Alabama For Sentencing Law And Juvenile Crime Policy, Paul J. Litton

Faculty Publications

This short essay, which serves as the Symposium Foreword, argues that the rationale of Miller is incoherent insofar as it permits juvenile LWOP sentences and that the Court misidentifies the foundational principle of Roper. First, in banning mandatory juvenile LWOP sentences, the Court invokes Woodson, which bans mandatory death sentences. The Court maintains that Woodson, from its capital jurisprudence, applies because juvenile LWOP is “akin to the death penalty” for juveniles. But if the Court’s capital jurisprudence is binding based on that equivalence, Roper should imply that juvenile LWOP, like the death penalty, is unconstitutional for juveniles. This essay briefly …

Youth Matters: Miller V. Alabama And The Future Of Juvenile Sentencing, John F. Stinneford

UF Law Faculty Publications

In the Supreme Court's latest Eighth Amendment decision, Miller v. Alabama, the Court held that statutes authorizing mandatory sentences of life in prison with no possibility of parole are unconstitutional as applied to offenders who were under eighteen when they committed their crimes. This short essay examines several themes presented in Miller, including the constitutional significance of youth and science, the legitimacy of mandatory life sentences and juvenile transfer statutes, and the conflict between “evolving standards of decency” and the Supreme Court’s “independent judgment.”

This essay also introduces important articles by Richard Frase, Carol Steiker and Jordan Steiker, …

What Matters More: A Day In Jail Or A Criminal Conviction?, John P. Gross

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

An Ounce Of Pretrial Prevention Is Worth More Than A Pound Of Post-Conviction Cure: Untethering Federal Pretrial Criminal Procedure From Due Process Standards Of Review, Jordan Gross

Faculty Law Review Articles

Some Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure cover purely technical matters. Some Rules, however, cover procedures with constitutional dimensions. When a federal court is interpreting a Rule that has a companion constitutional doctrine, an issue arises as to whether the Rule’s requirements are co-extensive with the constitutional protections defined by federal case law, or whether the Rule provides federal defendants a higher level of pretrial procedural protection than a post-conviction due process standard. Federal courts have been inconsistent in identifying and resolving this question of constitutional equivalency. In interpreting some pretrial Criminal Rules, federal courts make a clear distinction between the …

Restorative Justice: Reflectionson Theory And Practice From Within The Nova Scotia Community Universityresearch Alliance, Jennifer Llewellyn, Bruce Archibald

Dalhousie Law Journal

Dear Readers, This issue of the Dalhousie Law Journal features research from the Nova Scotia Restorative Justice Community University Research Alliance (NSRJ-CURA) a collaborative research alliance involving community, government and university partners. The Schulich School ofLaw at Dalhousie University has been the intellectual home forthe NSRJ-CURA since 2006. The NSRJ-CURA has focused on research related to the conceptualization and institutionalization of a restorative approach to justice. The experience of Nova Scotia's restorative justice program which is among the world leaders in the area has served as a focal point and learning laboratory for this research.

The Effects Of Regulated Discretion On Police Referrals To Restorative Justice, Diane Crocker

Dalhousie Law Journal

The Nova Scotia Restorative Justice Program relies heavily on referrals from police who are authorized to refer a range of property and both violent and non-violent offences. Federal legislation and provincialprotocols guide referral decisions. Both are designed to ensure that police consider extra-judicial measures, including restorative justice. This article reports the findings ofa surveyof police officers on their views of restorative justice and the types of cases they consider appropriate for a referral. The findings confirm what other researchers have found about the types of cases police officers prefer to divert from mainstream criminal justice responses. Placed in the context …

Getting Past The Gatekeepers: The Reception Of Restorative Justice Inthe Nova Scotian Criminal Justice System, Don Clairmont, Ethan Kim

Dalhousie Law Journal

This paper draws upon twelve years of multi-dimensional research and focuses on the reception of restorative justice in the criminal justice system in Nova Scotia. The paper traces the evolution of the restorative justice social movement, examining the launching and take-off phases, the impact on the police gatekeeping role, the receptivity and use of restorative justice by other criminal justice system professionals, its current level of institutionalization in the criminal justice system, and its future prospects.

Restorative Justice And Gendered Violence? From Vaguely Hostile Skeptic To Cautious Convert: Why Feminists Should Critically Engage With Restorative Approaches To Law, Melanie Randall

Dalhousie Law Journal

Legalremedies for crimes ofgendered violence that are more effective, expansive, creative, victim-centred, and victim-sensitive are urgently needed. The author argues that restorative justice is one promising approach -which warrants critical engagement and, more importantly, requires input from feminists in their efforts to end violence against women. The paper concludes with some key principles and recommended directions for further engagement between feminists and proponets of restorative justice in the development of approaches to the harms of gendered violence.

Imagining Success For A Restorative Approach To Justice: Implications For Measurement And Evaluation, Jennifer J. Llewellyn, Bruce P. Archibald, Don Clairmont, Diane Crocker

Dalhousie Law Journal

Whether restorative justiceis "successful," or not, is a complex question. Attempts to answer this question by practitioners, professionals, and scholars have often been bounded by common notions of success in standard criminal justice terms. The authors of this paper suggest that ifrestorative justice is properly understood in terms of its focus on relationship, success should be measured on new and different dimensions. This paper seeks to bring a relational imagination to the scholarly effort of capturing the essence ofrestorative justice and figuring out how to assess its successes and failures. The authors offer a foundation and agenda for future research …

African Nova Scotian Restorative Justice: A Change Has Gotta Come, Michelle Y. Williams

Dalhousie Law Journal

Anti-Black racism in the criminal justice system is a concern for people ofAfrican descent throughout the diaspora, including Nova Scotia-a province shaped by slavery and segregation. A relational theory of restorative justice suggests that a restorative approach to criminal harms could yield transformational results within and beyond the criminal justice system. Using a critical race analysis, this paper demonstrates that despite the theoretical promise, restorative justice practice in Nova Scotia has not met the needs of African Nova Scotians nor fundamentally transformed structural racism within the system. The author concludes that a culturally specific, community-led African Nova Scotian justice strategy …

Trauma-Informed Approaches To Law: Why Restorative Justice Must Understand Trauma And Psychological Coping, Melanie Randall, Lori Haskell

Dalhousie Law Journal

Becoming trauma informed entails becoming more astutely aware of the ways in which people who are traumatized have their life trajectories shaped by the experience and its effects, and developing policies and practices which reflect this understanding. The idea that lawand, in particular the criminaljustice system, should be trauma informed is novel, and, as a result, quite underdeveloped. In this paper we advance the general argument that more effective, fair, intelligent, and just legal responses must work from a perspective which is trauma informed. We specifically apply this argument to legal work being carried out and developed under the rubric …

Caressing The Big Fish? A Critique Of Icc Trial Chamber V(A)'S Decision To Grant Ruto's Request For Excusal From Continuous Presence At Trial, Thomas Obel Hansen

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article critiques the ICC Trial Chamber V(a)'s decision to excuse William Ruto from continuous presence at his trial, arguing that this decision misinterprets Articles 63 and 27 of the Rome Statute. The Chamber's reliance on "exceptional circumstances" and Ruto's official status as Vice President of Kenya undermines the principle of equality before the law and sets a problematic precedent for future cases involving high-ranking officials.

Frivolous Motions And Abuses Of Process At The Ad Hoc International Criminal Tribunals, Devon Whittle

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article examines the application of rules sanctioning frivolous or abusive motions at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). While these rules are essential to prevent abuse of process, their application lacks consistency and clarity, leading to concerns about bias and undermining the principle of equality of arms. The article argues that developing a standardized framework for applying these rules would enhance fairness, reduce allegations of prejudice, and provide clearer guidance for counsel.

Making Matters Worse: The Safe Streets And Communities Act And The Ongoing Crisis Of Indigenous Over-Incarceration, Ryan Newell

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

The Safe Streets and Communities Act (SSCA), a recent and wide-reaching piece of the Conservative Party of Canada’s tough-on-crime agenda, will exacerbate the ongoing crisis of Indigenous over-incarceration. In this article, I review the extensive literature that addresses the causes of Indigenous over-representation in the Canadian criminal justice system before assessing the impact of R v Gladue, nearly fifteen years after the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision. I analyze how the SSCA will restrict courts’ resort to Gladue, thus resulting in the incarceration of increasing numbers of Indigenous people. I then develop one avenue of constitutional challenge to the SSCA’s …

Targeting And The Concept Of Intent, Jens David Ohlin

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

International law generally prohibits military forces from intentionally targeting civilians; this is the principle of distinction. In contrast, unintended collateral damage is permissible unless the anticipated civilian deaths outweigh the expected military advantage of the strike; this is the principle of proportionality. These cardinal targeting rules of international humanitarian law are generally assumed by military lawyers to be relatively well settled. However, recent international tribunals applying this law in a string of little-noticed decisions have completely upended this understanding. Armed with criminal law principles from their own domestic systems, often civil law jurisdictions, prosecutors, judges and even scholars have progressively …

Crapping Out With Crime Statistics, Robert Steinbuch

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.