Criminal Law Commons^™

Section 7: Criminal Law, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School

Supreme Court Preview

No abstract provided.

Integrating The Study Of Sexuality Into The Core Law School Curriculum: Suggestions For Substantive Criminal Law Courses, Henry F. Fradella

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Speech: Latinas And Their Families In Detention: The Growing Intersection Of Immigration Law And Criminal Law, Sandra Guerra Thompson

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

In this article, Professor Sandra Guerra Thompson explores the growing enforcement of immigration law within the interior of the United States and the growing intersection of the criminal justice system and immigration law. Through the use of worksite enforcement sweeps and immigration screening by state and local law enforcement, growing numbers of undocumented persons are being taken into custody by federal immigration officials. She examines the plight of women and families held in detention centers under what are often deplorable conditions. Ironically, immigration detention centers offer fewer resources than those available in most state prisons. The immigration law judicial system …

Tactical Ineffective Assistance In Capital Trials, Kyle Graham

American University Law Review

Are defense attorneys sandbagging in their death-penalty cases? In Poindexter v. Mitchell, a habeas corpus case decided in 2006, Chief Judge Danny Boggs of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit wrote that by conducting a deliberately defective investigation into mitigation evidence that might otherwise have been presented at the penalty phase of a capital trial, a defense attorney can virtually guarantee that any death sentence the jury returns will be vacated in later proceedings. The likelihood of such an outcome, Boggs wrote, will more than make up for the somewhat greater chance that a jury that …

Brennan Lecture Evidence-Based Judicial Discretion: Promoting Public Safety Through State Sentencing Reform, Michael A. Wolff

All Faculty Scholarship

In this speech delivered for the annual Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Lecture on State Courts and Social Justice, the Honorable Michael Wolff offers a new way of thinking about sentencing. Instead of attempting to limit judicial discretion and increase incarceration, states should aim to reduce recidivism in order to make our communities safer. Judge Wolff uses the example of Missouri's sentencing reforms to argue that states should adopt evidence-based sentencing, in which the effectiveness of different sentences and treatment programs are regularly evaluated. In pre-sentencing investigative reports, probation officers should attempt to quantify - based on historical data - …

Who Is A Terrorist - Drawing The Line Between Criminal Defendants And Military Enemies, Benjamin Priester

Journal Publications

The threat of terrorist attacks by al Qaeda and other transnational terrorist organizations is a constant topic of public discourse in the United States. Despite its prominence, the nature of that threat is notoriously difficult to define. On the one hand, terrorists might be compared to other kinds of organized, dangerous criminals who should be prosecuted and punished using the federal criminal law. On the other hand, terrorists might be compared to enemy soldiers engaged in warfare against the United States. There are problems with either approach, however, because the threat posed by al Qaeda and other transnational terrorist organizations …

Neuroimaging And Capital Punishment, O. Carter Snead

Journal Articles

Can brain scans be used to determine whether a person is inclined toward criminality or violent behavior?

This question, asked by Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware at the hearing considering the nomination of John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the United States, illustrates the extent to which cognitive neuroscience - increasingly augmented by the growing powers of neuroimaging, the use of various technologies to directly or indirectly observe the structure and function of the brain - has captured the imagination of those who make, enforce, interpret, and study the law.

The attraction of the legal community to cognitive neuroscience …

Arbitrary Detention: Whither - Or Wither? - Section 9, Steve Coughlan

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

It is a remarkable fact that more than 25 years after the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into effect, we still have no section 9 jurisprudence. It is not that there have been no decisions at all concerning the right not to be arbitrarily detained, of course, but taken in total they do not come anywhere near setting out an analytical framework. This stands in contrast to most other legal rights in the Charter. Section 7 jurisprudence has established the two-step approach to take in assessing claims under that section, including a three-step test for determining whether a …

Improving Privacy Protection, But By How Much?, Steve Coughlan

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The discussion of reasonable expectation of privacy in R. v. M. (A.) is extremely useful. In the wake of Tessling, many courts had effectively reduced the protection offered by s. 8 based on two arguments: that what was detected was an emanation in the public domain similar to heat coming from a house, and that what was discovered merely related to informational privacy and was not part of the biographical core of such data. Justice Binnie's decision puts paid the notion that either of these arguments is a trump card. He suggests that generalizing about "emanations" is not a useful …

Reforming Homicide Law To Separate Guilt From Sentence: An International Gloss, Steve Coughlan

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This article argues that Canadian homicide law is handicapped by trying to combine two contradictory approaches. In general, Canadian criminal law adopts the approach of setting out relatively rigid rules for determining guilt or innocence. That is, the Criminal Code sets out particular offences, and if the elements of an offence can be proven, then failing the presence of any defence (also relatively rigidly defined), any accused will be found guilty. The question of guilt or innocence is not individualized to the circumstances of the offender. On the other hand, sentencing decisions adopt exactly the opposite approach, and are made …

The End Of Constitutional Exemptions, Steve Coughlan

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

In R. v. Ferguson (reported ante p. 197) the Supreme Court decided that constitutional exemptions are not available as a remedy when a mandatory minimum sentence is said to violate section 12 of the Charter. This is a well reasoned and sensible decision. As mandatory minimum sentences are the context in which the possibility of the constitutional exemption as a Charter remedy has most frequently arisen, as a practical matter Ferguson largely disposes of the issue. Nonetheless, a further clarification at some point that constitutional exemptions are not available in any context, for other violations of section 12 or of …

The American Prosecutor - Power, Discretion, And Misconduct, Angela J. Davis

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Section 6: Criminal Law, Institute Of Bill Of Rights Law, William & Mary Law School

Supreme Court Preview

No abstract provided.

Introductory Remarks: Criminal Law Panel, Cynthia V. Ward

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Attempt, Reckless Homicide, And The Design Of Criminal Law, Michael T. Cahill

University of Colorado Law Review

Most American criminal codes create an offense for recklessly killing another person, and nearly all contain a general provision covering any attempt to commit an offense. This article explores the relation between reckless homicide and attempt, which proves more complex than it appears and also turns out to provide a useful starting point for examination of several broader issues in attempt law and criminal law generally. The idea of "attempted reckless homicide" ("ARH") is largely disfavored by legal scholars and almost, but not quite, universally rejected in American law. Part I of the article questions that hostility. The theoretical arguments …

Forward: Lessons From The Saddam Trial, Michael P. Scharf

Faculty Publications

Forward to the conference on "Lessons from the Daddam Trial."

The Legal Profession's Failure To Discipline Unethical Prosecutors, Angela J. Davis

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This article explores the legal profession's failure to hold prosecutors accountable for misconduct and other ethical violations. Part I introduces the piece, providing several examples of prosecutorial power and abuse in the criminal justice system. Part II discusses prosecutorial misconduct and the inadequacy of current legal remedies. Part III argues that the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility have not provided adequate guidance to prosecutors, and that the disciplinary process has not been effective in disciplining prosecutors when they have abused their power and discretion. Part IV contends that the disbarment of Mike Nifong – the prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse …

The Canine Metaphor And The Future Of Sentencing Reform: Dogs, Tails, And The Constitutional Law Of Wagging, Benjamin Priester

Journal Publications

Over the last seven years, in what is commonly referred to as the Apprendi line of cases, the United States Supreme Court has promulgated an audacious and controversial constitutional law of sentencing characterized by thinly veiled disdain for legislative sentencing reform measures and high regard for judicial discretion in punishing offenders. The Court's opinions have asserted that its newfound constitutional principle is necessary to safeguard defendants' Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury against legislative encroachment. In truth, the only interest being preserved is judges' assessment of their own importance. The doctrinal and practical effects of the new sentencing doctrine …

Unenumerated Rights And The Limits Of Analogy: A Critque Of The Right To Medical Self-Defense, O. Carter Snead

Journal Articles

Volokh’s project stands or falls with the claim that the entitlement he proposes is of constitutional dimension. If there is no fundamental right to medical self-defense, the individual must, for better or worse, yield to the regulation of this domain in the name of the values agreed to by the political branches of government. Indeed, the government routinely restricts the instrumentalities of self-help (including self-defense) in the name of avoiding what it takes to be more significant harms. This same rationale accounts for current governmental limitations on access to unapproved drugs and the current ban on organ sales. The FDA …

Abducted Fugitives Before The International Criminal Court: Problems And Prospects, Robert Currie

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

In the law and literature relating to the exertion of criminal jurisdiction over the person, there exists a nagging problem that has plagued practitioners, courts and academics alike. The phrase of art is usually something along the lines of "irregular rendition," but the issues are as notorious as they are controversial: what should a court do with an accused criminal brought before it as a result of abduction (or otherwise illegal detention) from a foreign state? And, in particular, should the fact of the illegal or irregular rendition of the fugitive affect either the court's ability or its willingness to …

The Principled Exception And The Forgotten Criterion, Steve Coughlan

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The principled exception to the hearsay rule is routinely described as being settled by the "twin criteria" of necessity and reliability. In fact a third criterion is also — or at least ought to be — at play: that admitting the evidence through hearsay would not undermine any other rule of evidence. The Court has made reference to this third criterion in the past, but it has largely been ignored in both Supreme Court and lower court decisions. The recent judgement in Couture depends in a limited way on that question, and so it marks an opportunity to articulate the …

Racial Fairness In The Criminal Justice System: The Role Of The Prosecutor, Angela J. Davis

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

In this article, Davis analyzes discusses efforts to involve prosecutors in the elimination of racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Part II explains how prosecutors unintentionally contribute to disparities through the arbitrary, unsystematic exercise of discretion. Part III argues that the U.S. Supreme Court has failed to provide an effective legal remedy for victims of race-based selective prosecution. Finally, in Part IV, Davis endorses the use of racial impact studies and task forces and discusses a model reform effort spearheaded by the Vera Institute of Justice.

But Did They Listen? The New Jersey Death Penalty Commission's Exercise In Abolitionism: A Detailed Reply, Robert Blecker

Articles & Chapters

Based upon the nearly unanimous recommendation of its Death Penalty Study Commission, New Jersey seems poised to become the first state in the modern era to legislatively abolish capital punishment and substitute life without parole. Hailed nationally and internationally as thoughtful and fair, the Commission's final report consistently distorts the evidence, displays an anti-retributive bias, and worst of all, ignores basic well-established perspectives framing the great debate, avoiding at all costs the question of justice.

Unbalanced and biased, the Commission does not even consider any alternative to abolition or standing pat. This essay directly engages the Report on its findings …

The Perils Of Evidentiary Manipulation, Edward K. Cheng

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The use of evidentiary rules to achieve substantive goals strikes me as a Faustian bargain, and, given Bierschbach and Stein's acknowledgedly tentative position, I hope to dissuade them of the virtues of the practice. My goal therefore is to explore briefly the potential dark side of specialized evidentiary rules. The concerns of injecting substantive goals into evidence law extend far beyond the narrow legitimacy concerns Bierschbach and Stein raise. It is not simply the question of whether we aspire to a pluralistic or majority-take-all democratic society. Rather, evidentiary manipulation threatens the legitimacy of criminal and evidence law... Bierschbach and Stein's …

The Jurisdictional Heritage Of The Grand Jury Clause, Roger A. Fairfax

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

One Small Step: The Past, Present, And Future Of The Federal Sentencing System , Matthew Jill

ExpressO

The federal sentencing guidelines, which focus on offense based statistical consistency, had a ripple effect that molded the entire federal sentencing system in it’s wake; this article is an individual case study demonstrating the flaws of a consistency based sentencing system, the injustice such a system can create, and why United States v. Booker is only the first step in creating a fair and effective sentencing system.

The Silent Criminal Defendant And The Presumption Of Innocence: In The Hands Of Real Jurors, Is Either Of Them Safe, Mitchell J. Frank, Dawn Broschard

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Model Federal Sentencing Guidelines Project: Adjustments For Guilty Pleas And Cooperation With The Government, Model Sentencing Guidelines §3.7 - 3.8, Frank O. Bowman Iii

Faculty Publications

This Article is the tenth of twelve parts of a set of Model Federal Sentencing Guidelines designed to illustrate the feasibility and advantages of a simplified approach to federal sentencing proposed by the Constitution Project Sentencing Initiative. The Model Sentencing Guidelines and the Constitution Project report are all to be published in Volume 18, Number 5 of the Federal Sentencing Reporter. The project is described in an essay titled 'Tis a Gift To Be Simple: A Model Reform of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, available on SSRN at http://ssrn.com/abstract=927929. This segment of the project contains rules addressing cases in which the …

Misnamed, Misapplied, And Misguided: Clarifying The State Of Sentencing Entrapment And Proposing A New Conception Of The Doctrine, Jess D. Mekeel

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

A Lie For A Lie: False Confessions And The Case For Reconsidering The Legality Of Deceptive Interrogation Techniques, Miriam S. Gohara

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article reviews the law on deceptive interrogation practices, discusses empirical evidence of the role police deception plays in eliciting false confessions and argues that the law should circumscribe interrogation techniques that rely on misrepresentation to induce suspects into incriminating themselves. This Article also asserts that there are good policy reasons, in addition to the increasing exposure of wrongful convictions, which should encourage courts and legislators to proscribe the use of deception by law enforcement in a criminal justice system expressly designed to elicit the truth about a crime.