Criminal Law Commons^™

Public Opinion Of The Police In 1930s America: A Qualitative Historiographical Study, Willard M. Oliver

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Public opinion polls largely developed post-WWII and questions about the police did not appear until the late 1960s. Since then, over 100+ studies have assessed the modern-day public opinion of the police, but none have looked to public opinion from an earlier time period. This study uses a qualitative historiographical approach for assessing public opinion of the police in the 1930s by drawing on the primary source of a letter exchange between two of that eras greatest pulp writers: Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft. Findings suggest similarities between the 1930s and present day public opinion of the police."

Jennifer E. Cobbina, Hands Up, Don't Shoot, Joshua R. Ruffin

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Issues surrounding police use of excessive force continue to be a longstanding debate in the field of Criminal Justice. In the timely boots-on-the-ground work, Hands Up, Don't Shoot, Jennifer Cobbina amplifies the voices of Ferguson and Baltimore protestors by conducting indepth interviews with residents as it relates to their everyday experience with the police. In Hands Up, Don’t Shoot, Cobbina takes an “and” instead of an “or” approach in understanding the experiences often faced by residents of different intersecting identities in these communities. Further, Cobbina provides readers the opportunity to learn of the racialized experiences of these groups …

Out-Of-School Suspensions: Counter-Narratives From The Student Perspective, Karen Mcelrath, Lori Guevara, Zahra Shekarkhar, Joe M. Brown

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Out-of-school suspension (OSS) is a major disciplinary tool that has impacted large numbers of students in the United States. Most research into OSS has drawn exclusively on data collected from school records and other “official” sources, and this body of work has contributed to our understanding of suspension decisions by school officials. Considerably less is known about how students experience out-of-school suspensions. This line of inquiry is important because it captures the student voice and reveals a series of counter-narratives that offer alternative interpretations of students’ behaviors that lead to OSS. The aims of this study were twofold: 1) to …

“Everybody Loses:” Understanding Police Roles And Perceptions Of Domestic Violence Calls, Anjali Fulambarker

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"To better understand police response to domestic violence, it is useful to consider the perspectives of officers themselves. Through exploratory, in-depth interviews and applying the lens of role theory, this study focuses on police officers’ perceptions of their role in responding to domestic violence, their perceptions of the effectiveness of their response, and challenges they face. Findings suggest that, for these participants, there is an overlap in the different roles they inhabit, as well as limitations and barriers to their response. These limitations and obstacles are a signal that officers may be experiencing role overload, which leads to their frustration …

Incapacitated Fatherhood: The Impact Of Mass Incarceration On Black Father Identity, Dara Lewis, Philip Young P. Hong

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Despite the growing body of literature detailing the disproportionate social consequences of mass incarceration to black men, many of whom are fathers, insufficient attention has been given to the extent of damage on fatherhood and father identity in particular. This article examines the consequences of mass incarceration on father identity and the performance of fatherhood among a group of black men. Drawing from rich qualitative data, the study uses the lived experiences and perceptions of a group of formerly incarcerated black fathers. This research found that the incarceration experience significantly disrupted the performance of fatherhood among this group of men …

Tasseli Mckay, Megan Comfort, Christine Lindquist, & Anupa Bir, Holding On: Family And Fatherhood During Incarceration And Reentry, Danielle L. Haverkate

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"The impact of incarceration on families has received increased focus over the past 20 years. The bulk of examinations have narrowed in on the impact of parental incarceration on children (see Wakefield & Wildeman, 2013), the impact of incarceration on parenting (see Hairston, 2002), and the impacts of incarceration on the partners of those incarcerated (see Roy & Dyson, 2005; Turney, 2015). All of this suggests that family functioning is disrupted during periods of incarceration. Despite this, a large proportion of the literature on family relationships during and after prison focuses on incarcerated mothers (see Ferraro & Moe, 2003; Enos, …

What’S After Good?: The Burden Of Post-Incarceration Life, Quintin Williams, Cesraéa Rumpf

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"In the current era of mass incarceration, an increasing number of people face the challenge of transitioning from prison to society. Researchers of post-incarceration life have produced a detailed account of the collateral consequences of incarceration, noting the numerous barriers people must overcome as they try to return to society. In this paper, we show how stigma continues to be a structuring force in the lives of the formerly incarcerated. We develop the concept of the burden of post-incarceration life, meaning the structural constraints formerly incarcerated people face and the constant work they undertake to demonstrate and attempt to …

Letter From The Outgoing Editor, Lynne Vieraitis

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Welcome to the first issue of Volume 9 of the Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice & Criminology, and my last issue as editor. I am happy to hand over the position to Scott Jacques from Georgia State University, who has a solid record as a qualitative researcher. The journal is in excellent hands, and I wish Scott and his editorial team the best as they continue to advance the journal and qualitative research."

Explaining The Body-Worn Camera Perspective Bias, Rémi Boivin, Camille Faubert, Annie Gendron, Bruno Poulin

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Body-worn cameras (BWCs) can be used to provide video evidence that is expected to help settle cases quickly. The present study explores the assumption that everyone who watches a recorded intervention will have the same understanding of the images. Focus groups were conducted with different people: citizens from the general population, in-training police candidates and cadets, as well as experienced police officers. The aim was to provide insights into how a potential BWC perspective bias affects attitudes towards use of force incidents. Results suggest that the bias has more effect on those without actual experience of police work. In particular, …

“A Victim Is A Victim:” Lgbt Blindness Among Victim Assistance Workers, Michael C. Lasala, James P. Fedor

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"LGBT crime victims underutilize victim assistance services because they fear secondary victimization by homophobic and insensitive workers and organizations. However, assessment of the perceptions and competence of those working with these populations is largely absent from the literature. To address this gap, we qualitatively investigated 83 victim assistance workers and administrators regarding their practices with LGBT victims. Overall, respondents believed that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity was irrelevant, which was well-meaning but potentially perpetuated a type of LGBT cultural blindness to the needs of these populations, not dissimilar to color blindness among some white service providers toward African …

“Driver’S License, Military Id, And Proof Of Registration And Insurance, Please”: Officer Discretion Surrounding Traffic Stops On An Air Force Installation, Steven L. Holman, Don Hummer

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Officer discretion is an oft-debated topic in American culture today. A plethora of research has been conducted on how local, county, and state law enforcement officers use their discretionary authority specific to enforcement of moving violations and the initiation of traffic stops, however to date, no such work has been conducted on a policing entity within the United States military. Through observational ride alongs and unstructured discussion with participants, this study breaks that barrier and assesses how one particular Air Force installation’s law enforcement officers exercise their authority."

“Sometimes I’M Just Wearing The Prosecutor Down”: An Exploratory Analysis Of Criminal Defense Attorneys In Plea Negotiations And Client Counseling, Jacqueline G. Lee, John W. Ropp

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"As plea bargains have proliferated in the criminal justice system, scholars have been working to better understand their mechanics. There have been a few recent examinations of plea bargaining, but the literature lacks qualitative research that gives the defense sufficient attention. Using a sample of courtroom practitioners in one large, urban county, we examine defense attorney bargaining and client counseling tactics. Results demonstrate that defense attorneys use a variety of strategies for negotiation, including sharing humanizing information about their clients with the prosecutor and utilizing delay tactics. Results also suggest that attorneys counsel their clients about plea offers in varying …

Understanding The Motivations Of Citizens To Join A Community Posse Initiative: A Qualitative Analysis, Michael Mcskimming

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"This qualitative study examines a community posse initiative initiated by the Clearfield County Sheriff’s Office in Pennsylvania in 2015. In this research, we aimed to understand the motivations of volunteers who joined the posse initiative and identify the factors that affect citizens’ decisions to contribute to a volunteer policing effort. To do this, we collected data through semi-structured interviews with posse members and also obtained official data from the Sheriff’s Office. The major findings suggest that participants were motivated to join the posse out of feelings of duty/attachment to the community, a desire to help law enforcement, and a heightened …

Person-Based Proactivity And Community Relations: Examining Police Perspectives In Troubled Times, Vaughn J. Crichlow, Ross Deuchar, Seth Wyatt Fallik

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Deadly encounters between police and Black men have led to public outrage and increasing scrutiny of law enforcement. In response, some law enforcement leaders have called for more proactive strategies in high-crime areas. While many have criticized oppressive examples of proactivity, such as stopquestion- and-frisk, others have suggested that proactive approaches could be more effective if tailored to the needs of racial and ethnic minority residents. In this qualitative study, we explore these issues using data collected from interviews and participant observation with police officers at a Southern Police Department located near several low-income ethnic minority neighborhoods. The aim of …

Policing Internet Sex Trafficking, Johnny Nhan, Kendra N. Bowen

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Few studies have examined Internet sex trafficking through the lens of law enforcement working these cases. The purpose of this research is to explore the dynamic nature of policing sex trafficking in the online environment. The qualitative data was drawn from interviews with police investigators and detectives who work sex trafficking cases in two urban cities in Texas. The results suggest that the nature of sex trafficking has significantly evolved since the advent of social media, including the strategies for recruitment of workers and clients, making enforcement easier with some aspects and much more difficult with others. Additionally, law enforcement …

The Inluence Of Traditional Police Culture On The Activities Of School Resource O��Cers, Benjamin W. Fisher, F. Chris Curran, Samantha Viano, John Skinner

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"School resource officers (SROs) have become increasingly prevalent in U.S. public schools, yet critics suggest that there is an inherent incompatibility between the cultures of police and education. However, research has not examined the extent to which some of the potentially incompatible elements of police culture exist among SROs. This study examines three elements of traditional police culture that are likely to be particularly incompatible with school settings— suspicion, danger anticipation, and unpredictability. Given SROs’ involvement in roles such as teaching and informal counseling that extend beyond the typical duties of police officers, it is unclear whether these elements of …

“I’Ve Never Been Straight Up Robbed Like That”: Resident Perceptions And Experiences Of Inner-City Police Raids, Marta-Marika Urbanik, Carolyn Greene

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Empirical research has consistently demonstrated that residents of disadvantaged and racialized inner-city neighborhoods across North America are subjected to disproportionate and omnipresent policing. Consequently, relationships between law enforcement officials and marginalized community members are often strained. Whilst a robust body of literature has examined how citizens perceive “every day” policing practices such as “carding,” stop and search, etc., it remains unclear how citizens perceive more invasive policing encounters—such as police raids. Drawing upon 35 interviews with residents of Toronto’s inner-city, this paper explores how community members experience, make sense of, and talk about police raids. Our data uncover widespread perceptions …

The Federal Sentencing Guidelines: A Guideline To Remedy Ohio's Sentencing Disparities For White-Collar Criminal Defendants, Joelle Livorse

Cleveland State Law Review

Over the past few decades, white-collar crimes have significantly increased across the country, especially in Ohio. However, Ohio’s judges are ill-equipped to handle the influx of cases. Unlike federal judges who are guided by the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Ohio’s judges have significantly more sentencing discretion because the Ohio legislature provides minimal guidance for these crimes. As a result, Ohio’s white-collar criminal defendants are experiencing dramatic sentencing variations. To solve this problem, Ohio should look to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and neighboring states to adopt and create an innovative sentencing model tailored to white-collar crime. Unlike the federal …

Empowering American Victims Of International Organized Crime: Proposing An Amendment To Clarify Rico's Extraterritorial Application, Lisa Lindhorst

Legislation and Policy Brief

No abstract provided.

Plugging The Pipeline: Prosecutors And Educators Collaborating To Eliminate The School To Prison Pipeline, Hunter Taylor, Gerry Lopez, Evelyn Essenwanger, Hunter Taylor

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Ideal for law enforcement, educators, and all citizens working with youth at-risk, this unique presentation explains how prosecutors in one of the nation’s largest counties have engaged local school districts, community based organizations, and even ex-gang members to create an award winning Crime Prevention Unit designed to keep youth in the classroom and out of the criminal justice system.

Pardoning Dogs, Sarah Schindler

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

In 1994, the Governor of New Jersey pardoned a dog. In 2017, the Governor of Maine did the same. Each of these dogs had been ordered to be euthanized after killing another dog. While the Governor of New Jersey relied on the property status of the dog in issuing her order, the Governor of Maine relied on his standard pardon power, despite the fact that the being to be pardoned was a dog rather than a human. Both of these cases generated a great deal of popular press and attention, and a few months ago, a New York state senator …

Drones: Where Does The National Airspace System Start?, Jason T. Lorenzon J.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Unmanned Aeronautical Vehicles (UAV), drones and Personal Aerial Vehicles (PAV) constitute the greatest technological advancement since the jet age. (Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation, October 26, 2017) This technological advancement has prompted significant public policy challenges and the need for new laws regarding navigable airspace. This proposal investigates how airspace used by drones will evolve given existing Constitutional and common law principals. These principals will influence the creation, development and modification of UAS airspace regulations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Two critical but unanswered questions concerning the National Airspace System, are where does navigable airspace …

Shackling Prejudice: Expanding The Deck V. Missouri Rule To Nonjury Proceedings, Sadie Shourd

Vanderbilt Law Review

Courts in the United States have traditionally held that criminal defendants have the right to be free from unwarranted restraints visible to the jury during the guilt phase of a trial. The term “unwarranted restraints” refers to the use of restraints on a defendant absent a court’s individualized determination that such restraints are justified by an essential state interest. In Deck v. Missouri, the Supreme Court expanded the prohibition against unwarranted restraints to the sentencing phase of a trial. The law regarding the unwarranted shackling of defendants in nonjury proceedings, however, remains unsettled. The U.S. Courts of Appeals for the …

Are Collateral Consequences Deserved?, Brian M. Murray

Notre Dame Law Review

While bipartisan passage of the First Step Act and state reforms like it will lead to changes in sentencing and release practices, they do little to combat the collateral consequences that exoffenders face upon release. Because collateral consequences involve the state’s infliction of serious harm on those who have been convicted or simply arrested, their existence requires justification. Many scholars classify them as punishment, but modern courts generally diverge, deferring to legislative labels that classify them as civil, regulatory measures. This label avoids having to address existing constitutional and legal constraints on punishment. This Article argues that although collateral consequences …

Three Questions About "Stand Your Ground" Laws, Cynthia V. Ward

Notre Dame Law Review Reflection

Stand Your Ground laws, and the issues they generate, do raise serious questions about what constitutes justice in cases that give rise to claims of self-defense. In order to resolve those questions, we first need to understand what the self-defense doctrine actually says and how it was designed to work. It is necessary to specify the ways in which Stand Your Ground provisions do, and do not, affect that doctrine.

In this Essay I will raise three issues about Stand Your Ground and self-defense. In addressing these issues I will use Florida law as a template because the Stand …

In-Game Currencies, Skin Gambling, And The Persistent Threat Of Money Laundering In Video Games, J. Gregory Cloward, Brett L. Abarbanel

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Me Too? The Invisible Older Victims Of Sexual Violence, Ruthy Lowenstein Lazar

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

A review of legal research on violence against women and elder abuse reveals a disturbing picture. There is hardly any American legal research examining sexual abuse of older women and its conceptualization in legal literature and treatment in the legal system.

This Article attempts to fill the abovementioned gap and to bring the hidden issue of sexual violence against older women to light. Scholars writing on rape, violence against women, and elder abuse tend to analyze age and gendered sexual violence separately from each other, without accounting for their interplay. This Article proposes a conceptual framework of sexual abuse of …

Mental Health And The Constitution: How Incarcerating The Mentally Ill Might Pave The Way To Treatment, Samantha M. Caspar, Artem M. Joukov

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Martinez Guzman V. Second Judicial Dist. Court, 136 Nev. Adv. Op. 12 (Mar. 26, 2020), John Mccormick-Huhn

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court clarified the ambiguity of the meaning “territorial jurisdiction,” a term of art found in NRS 172.105. The Court held that NRS 172.105 incorporates Nevada’s venue statutes and grants a grand jury the authority to “inquire into a [criminal] offense so long as the district court that empaneled the grand jury may appropriately adjudicate the defendant’s guilt for that particular offense.”

Framing Legislation Banning The "Gay And Trans Panic" Defenses, Jordan Blair Woods

University of Richmond Law Review

This Article, prepared for the University of Richmond Law Reviewsymposium commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall Riots of 1969, uses the Stonewall Riots as an opportunity to analyze and theorize the political dimensions of legislation banning the gay and trans panic defenses. As a moment of resistance to state violence against LGBTQ people, the Stonewall Riots are a useful platform to examine the historical and current relationship between the state and the gay and trans panic defenses. Drawing on original readings of medical literature, this Article brings the historical role of the state in the growth of gay …