Criminal Law Commons^™

Afreeist Legal Theory And The Problem Of Innocence, Stephen G. Marks

Faculty Scholarship

Afreeism refers to the lack of the assumption that human beings have free will. Rather, it assumes that humans are subject to the same laws of physics, chemistry, biology, etc., that govern all other phenomena. Afreeist Legal Theory in turn is a legal theory that forgoes the assumption of free will. By foregoing the notion of free will, we also forgo notions of desert, blame, and moral responsibility. Human beings are causally or stochastically deterministic beings. As such, they can never do other than what they do. And because they never possess the ability to do otherwise, they are at …

Barrock Lecture: Democracy In The Criminal Justice System: An Assessment, Carissa Byrne Hessick

Marquette Law Review

None.

Criminal Law—Federal Conspiracy Law—Changing The Withdrawal Standard For Members Of A Conspiracy, Matthew N. Rose

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Law School News: Joyce And Bill Cummings Of Cummings Foundation To Deliver Keynote Address At Rwu Commencement 4-20-2023, Jill Rodrigues

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

No Sense Of Decency, Kathryn E. Miller

Washington Law Review

For nearly seventy years, the Court has assessed Eighth Amendment claims by evaluating “the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.” In this Article, I examine the evolving standards of decency test, which has long been a punching bag for critics on both the right and the left. Criticism of the doctrine has been fierce but largely academic until recent years. Some fault the test for being too majoritarian, while others argue that it provides few constraints on the Justices’ discretion, permitting their personal predilections to rule the day. For many, the test is seen …

Sovereign, Employer, Community: A Theory Of Military Justice Beyond Discipline, Obedience, And Efficiency, Dan Maurer

Marquette Law Review

Unfortunately, when we look for such a theory to understand or legitimate the structure, foundational premises, and evolutionary path of the U.S. military’s separate criminal justice system, we find only a mirage—the blurry image of a super-rationale that simply evaporates the closer we inspect it. There is no theory that sheds light on why the system is what it is, nor how or why it could change further. This Article proposes such a theory. Aside from breaking ground as the first comprehensive theory of military justice in the field’s storied history, it aims to contribute to legislators’, the courts’, commanders’, …

Hb 219 - Venue For Money Laundering And Theft Involving Digital Currency, Samuel P. Robertson, Lindsey N. Smith

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act creates venue in cases of money laundering and theft that involve the transfer of digital currency by establishing that the crime may be considered to have happened wherever power was exercised over the property, wherever an act in furtherance of the crime occurred, or wherever the victim resides.

Changemakers: The Long Road To The Law : Kiron Ireland, Michelle Choate

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Law School News: 'More Than I Ever Could Have Asked For...', Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Law School News: Should Prison Be Abolished? 10-6-2022, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Drawing The Line Between Talent And Desire 09-23-2022, Michelle Choate

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

'To Empower And Amplify Lgbtq+ Voices' 09-16-2022, Michelle Choate

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Ramos Retroactivity And The False Promise Of Teague V. Lane, Tori Simkovic

University of Miami Law Review

When the Supreme Court changes course and announces a new rule of constitutional criminal law, the question remains: what happens to those imprisoned by the old practice now deemed unconstitutional? Since 1989, that question has been answered by Teague v. Lane, a restrictive holding that limits retroactivity by prioritizing judicial resources over the constitutional rights of incarcerated people. But should it matter if the old rule has explicitly racist origins?
Convictions by non-unanimous juries emerged in Louisiana and Oregon with the stated intention of rendering Black jurors' votes meaningless. In 2020, the Supreme Court in Ramos v. Louisiana held that …

Champions For Justice 8th Annual, May 6, 2022, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Law School News: Welcome, Professor Bernard Freamon 04-20-2022, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Are Constitutional Rights Enough? An Empirical Assessment Of Racial Bias In Police Stops, Rohit Asirvatham, Michael D. Frakes

Northwestern University Law Review

This Article empirically tests the conventional wisdom that a permissive constitutional standard bearing on pretextual traffic stops—such as the one announced by the Supreme Court in Whren v. United States—contributes to racial disparities in traffic stops. To gain empirical traction on this question, we look to state constitutional law. In particular, we consider a natural experiment afforded by changes in the State of Washington’s rules regarding traffic stops. Following Whren, the Washington Supreme Court first took a more restrictive stance than the U.S. Supreme Court, prohibiting pretextual stops by police officers, but later reversed course and instituted a …

Loring V. Tribe, 21-Ap-06 (Blkft. Tr. Ct. App., April 5, 2022), Blackfeet Appellate Court

Court Decisions

In the Blackfeet Tribal Court of Appeals, the Court denied a motion to reconsider a conviction, judged in absentia, because the Final Order from the lower court has not been received by the Appellate Court for review, thus it is untimely. The Court cannot reconsider without a completed file.

Hb 94: Criminalizing Porch Piracy, Charlie Ferrelle, Jake Summerlin

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act criminalizes the possession of stolen mail and the theft of mail or packages from the porch or entrance of a residential building. A violator may be subject to felony prosecution and imprisonment of one to five years.

Extraordinary (Circumstances) Injustice, Melissa Capalbo

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

The box . . . . It’s a small room, so you really don’t move
around a lot. You wake up, and there’s a toilet right next to
your head. You look out the window and you see birds fly-
ing, and that only leads your mind into wanting freedom
more. And since it’s a small room, it makes you think cra-
zy. . . .Right now, I’m five-foot-seven. I grew. I came here
when I was five feet tall.

This is Rikers Island. The 19-year-old boy who shared his story is certainly not alone. Thousands of youth from …

Resolving The Anders Dilemmas: How & Why Texas Should Abandon The Anders Procedure, Michael J. Ritter

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

When an indigent defendant has a right to counsel for an appeal, and counsel believes the appeal is wholly frivolous, Texas has adopted the Anders v. California procedure that permits counsel to withdraw from representation and argue to the appellate court why their client’s appeal is wholly frivolous. This Article argues that, either by a change to the disciplinary rules or by judicial decision, Texas should abandon the Anders procedure as other states have. Doing so will promote the integrity of the right to counsel, avoid numerous conflicts and dilemmas created by the Anders procedure, and advance judicial efficiency and …

Juries, Democracy, And Petty Crime, John D. King

Scholarly Articles

The right to trial by jury in criminal cases is basic to the design of American criminal justice and to the structure of American government. Guaranteed by Article III of the Constitution, the Sixth Amendment, and every one of the original state constitutions, the criminal jury was seen as critically important not only to the protection of individual rights but also to the architecture of American democracy. The vast majority of criminal prosecutions today, however, are resolved without even the prospect of community review by a jury. Despite the textual clarity of the guarantee, the Supreme Court has long recognized …

Is Juvenile Probation Obsolete? Reexamining And Reimagining Youth Probation Law, Policy, And Practice, Patricia Soung

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

The dramatic growth of prison populations in the United States during the latter half of the twentieth century, as well as the problems of over-policing and police misconduct, have been well documented and decried.¹ But the related expansion and problems of community supervision receive far less attention. Across the nation, reform efforts have increasingly included a focus on probation, especially juvenile probation, as an actor that both jails and polices youth in the community while also trying to rehabilitate them and promote their well-being. This Article studies the juvenile probation system, with a focus on California as one important …

Changemakers: To Empower And Amplify Lgbtq+ Voices, Michelle Choate

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Corporate Criminal Liability: End It, Don’T Mend It, Stephen F. Smith

Journal Articles

From the Author

In this Article, I make the case in favor of abolishing corporate criminal liability. Criminal liability for corporations is peculiar, given that “entity liability” does not otherwise exist in criminal law. The legal system appropriately deals with law-breaking within other entities (such as police departments and labor unions) solely through criminal prosecutions of the individual offenders and civil suits against the entities within which criminality occurred. Corporate criminal liability is another example of overcriminalization, in which criminal law is unjustifiably used to address problems better dealt with through other means. Finally, corporate criminal liability is fundamentally incompatible …

Changemakers: Master Of Studies In Law: 'Law Isn't A Foreign Language Anymore', Roger Williams University School O Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Changemakers: Master Of Studies In Law: 'Radical Imagination, Radical Listening', Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Out Of Reach: The Mdlea’S Impermissible Extraterritorial Reach On Maritime Drug–Traffickers, Andres Chinchilla

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

46 U.S.C. § 70503, known as the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA), prohibits individuals on board covered vessels from manufacturing, distributing, or possessing with an intent to distribute or manufacture, a controlled substance. The statute, as enacted, permits the prosecution of individuals arrested beyond U.S. jurisdiction and even within the territorial seas of other States. This provision is argued to be an impermissible extraterritorial reach absent a nexus requirement—showing a connection between the drug smuggling activity and the U.S. Recently, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held the statute’s extraterritorial reach and lack of nexus requirement as unconstitutional under …

Peraturan Mahkamah Agung Republik Indonesia Nomor 13 Tahun 2016 Tentang Tata Cara Penanganan Perkara Tindak Pidana Oleh Korporasi; Solusi Sementara Upaya Meminta Pertanggungjawaban Pidana Korporasi, Wahyu Prestianto

"Dharmasisya” Jurnal Program Magister Hukum FHUI

The desire of the community so that corporations in Indonesia can be held liable today seems to have been granted with the imposition of crimes against several corporations in Indonesia. This was realized with the issuance of the Indonesian Supreme Court Regulation No. 13 of 2016 concerning Procedures for Handling Criminal Acts by Corporations that is said have filled the vacuum of Indonesian criminal procedure law, which had been said to be an inhibiting factor in corporate action by law enforcement officials. It is important to discuss what are the obstacles to the prosecution process of the corporation and whether …

How The Gun Control Act Disarms Black Firearm Owners, Maya Itah

Washington Law Review

Through 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), the Gun Control Act (GCA) outlaws the possession of a firearm “in furtherance of” a drug trafficking crime. The statute’s language is broad, and federal courts have interpreted it expansively. By giving prosecutors wide discretion in charging individuals with § 924(c) violations, the language enables the disproportionate incarceration of Black firearm owners.

This Comment addresses this issue in three parts. Part I discusses the ways early gun control laws overtly disarmed Black firearm owners. Additionally, Part I provides context for the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968, which coincided with the backlash to …

Police Or Pirates? Reforming Washington's Civil Asset Forfeiture System, Jasmin Chigbrow

Washington Law Review

Civil asset forfeiture laws permit police officers to seize property they suspect is connected to criminal activity and sell or retain the property for the police department’s use. In many states, including Washington, civil forfeiture occurs independent of any criminal case—many property owners are never charged with the offense police allege occurred. Because the government is not required to file criminal charges, property owners facing civil forfeiture lack the constitutional safeguards normally guaranteed to defendants in the criminal justice system: the right to an attorney, the presumption of innocence, the government’s burden to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, …