Criminal Law Commons^™

Mission Creep In National Security Law, Fletcher N. Baldwin Jr., Daniel R. Koslosky

UF Law Faculty Publications

Many anti-terrorism measures are enacted with broad public support. There is often a general willingness on the part of the public to accept greater civil liberties deprivations in the face of a specific threat, or otherwise in times of general crisis, than would otherwise be the case. Sweeping anti-terrorism legislation is frequently crafted in reaction to the presence, or perceived presence, of immense, imminent danger. The medium and long-term consequences of the legislation may not fully be comprehended when political leaders and policymakers take swift action in the face strong public pressure in light of a recent terrorist attack or …

The Invalidity Of A Plea Of Guilty To A Criminal Offense Made By Video Teleconferencing When The Defendant Is Not Present In Open Court, William R. Simpson Jr., Clint Miller, David Sudduth

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

A guilty plea by a defendant is more than an admission of conduct; it is the nail in the coffin that closes the case and results in conviction. Despite the critical importance of this moment, Arkansas district and circuit courts are more commonly taking guilty pleas from defendants by video teleconferencing (VTC) instead of requiring defendants to be physically present in the courtroom. This essay sets forth three separate arguments in support of the notion that a guilty plea to a criminal offense by VTC without the defendant being present in open court is invalid as a matter of Arkansas …

Manson And Its Progeny: An Empirical Analysis Of American Eyewitness Law, Nicholas A. Kahn-Fogel

Law Faculty Scholarship

Since the Supreme Court established the current constitutional framework for determining the admissibility of eyewitness identification evidence in Manson v. Brathwaite in 1977, scientists and scholars who have evaluated the opinion have uniformly criticized it as insufficient to deter police from using flawed identification procedures and inconsistent with scientific evidence of the best ways to assess the reliability of evidence tainted by such procedures. Until now, however, the work of these scientists and scholars has been based primarily on simulation experiments and on a selective assortment of easily criticized judicial decisions applying Manson. This study provides the first systematic analysis …

Florida's Disregard Of Due Process Rights For Nearly A Decade: Treating Drug Possession As A Strict Liability Crime, Rachel A. Lyons

St. Thomas Law Review

This Article examines the United States Supreme Court's jurisprudence that constitutionally compels an analysis under the Due Process Clause for strict liability crimes, and how the Florida Legislature overstepped its due process limitations when it amended Florida's Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Law in 2002. Part I traces the evolution of mens rea in the criminal justice system. Part II provides a history of Florida's Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Law. Part III discusses the recent constitutional challenges to Florida's Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Law. Part IV explains why the United States Supreme Court cases addressing strict liability crimes …

United States V. Jones: Does Katz Still Have Nine Lives, Kevin Emas

St. Thomas Law Review

This article explores the Court's recent retreat from the two-part Katz test, and an unexpected shift in the considerations the Court declared it will primarily rely upon when evaluating whether a Fourth Amendment search has occurred. Part I recounts the Court's early evolutionary Fourth Amendment cases, leading to the establishment in Katz of the "reasonable expectation of privacy" test by which a Fourth Amendment violation has since been measured. Part II explores significant cases involving electronic surveillance--GPS in particular, but also electronic eavesdropping through wiretapping and other then-evolving technologies. Part III analyzes the Court's decision in United States v. Jones, …

Surveillance Technology And The Loss Of Something A Lot Like Privacy: An Examination Of The Mosaic Theory And The Limits Of The Fourth Amendment, Courtney E. Walsh

St. Thomas Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Penal Order: Prosecutorial Sentencing As A Model For Criminal Justice Reform?, Stephen C. Thaman

All Faculty Scholarship

This chapter traces the history of the penal order from its earliest roots through its consolidation as a normal alternative form of procedure in Germany. It compares the types of penal order procedures found in modern criminal procedure codes, and it compares penal orders with other “consensual” procedural modes that also involve considerable prosecutorial influence in determination of the level of guilt and punishment: diversion, pleas and stipulations of guilt, and abbreviated trials based on the contents of the preliminary investigation dossier. Finally, it explores whether the penal order, could eventually become a model for the consensual resolution of all …

Unintended Consequences: The Impact Of The Court's Recent Cases On Structural Ineffective Assistance Of Counsel Claims, Lauren Sudeall Lucas

Faculty Publications By Year

The Supreme Court’s recent Sixth Amendment cases have garnered much attention for their potential impact on ineffective assistance of counsel claims asserted in the context of a criminal case. This short article explores the unintended consequences of these decisions on structural ineffective assistance of counsel claims made in the civil context alleging that systemic deficiencies are likely to lead to right to counsel violations. The article concludes that the Court’s departure from a trial-centered conception of the right to counsel, its willingness to articulate specific pre-trial duties of counsel and its more pragmatic approach towards enforcing the Sixth Amendment will …

Plowing In Hope: A Three-Part Framework For Incorporating Restorative Justice Into Sentencing And Correctional Systems, Lynn S. Branham

All Faculty Scholarship

This essay proposes the adoption of a three-part framework to effectuate fundamental changes in conventional sentencing and correctional constructs, making restorative justice a mainstay of sentencing and correctional systems. First, federal, state, and local governments would authorize the imposition of what would be – in name, purpose, and content – “restorative sentences.” The growing, processing, and distribution of locally grown foods in low-income neighborhoods particularly afflicted by crime is an example of what could become a prevalent restorative sentence. The essay outlines a number of steps to be undertaken by jurisdictions in order to realize the goals of restorative sentencing. …

Bail: Reforming Policies To Address Overcrowded Jails, The Impact Of Race On Detention, And Community Revival In Harris County, Texas, Marcia Johnson, Luckett Anthony Johnson

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

Starting in the 1970s, the U.S. federal government and many state and local governments adopted “get tough” policies against crime. These new strict policy initiatives produced an explosion of incarceration in prisons throughout the country. They also impacted local jails as well, particularly in the numbers of persons detained pre-trial. This Article explores this phenomenon and its implications for local governments, as well as its unforeseen consequences on communities, particularly communities of color. The Article uses Harris County, Texas to exemplify the systematic problems resulting from the over-jailing of its citizens, particularly persons who are detained pre-trial. We attempt to …

Whistleblowers And Rogues: An Urgent Call For An Affirmative Defense To Corporate Criminal Liability, Marcia Narine

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Take The Money And Split: The Current Circuit Split And Why Actual Force And Violence Or Intimidation Should Not Be Required Under Section 2113(A) Of The Bank Robbery Act, Kaitlin Flynn

Catholic University Law Review

No abstract provided.

International Decision, International Criminal Court, Judgment On The Appeal Of The Republic Of Kenya Against Pre-Trial Chamber Decision Denying Inadmissibility Of The Kenya Situation, Charles Chernor Jalloh

Faculty Publications

A fundamental pillar of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is Article 17, which enshrines the complementarity principle – the idea that ICC jurisdiction will only be triggered when states fail to act to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes within their national courts or in circumstances where they prove unwilling and or unable to do so. The problem is that, as shown in this case report in the American Journal of International Law on the first ICC Appeals Chamber ruling regarding a state party’s objection to the court’s assertion of jurisdiction over its nationals, …

Chimeric Criminals, David H. Kaye

Faculty Scholarship

According to the book Genetic Justice: DNA Databanks, Criminal Investigations, and Civil Liberties — described as “the single most comprehensive articulation of the civil-liberties concerns associated with law-enforcement DNA databases,” “a series of measured arguments,” and “a touchstone for debates about the spread of DNA profiling” — an obscure genetic condition known as chimerism “could undermine the very basis of the forensic DNA system” and force a reconsideration of “the entire project of forensic DNA.” This conclusion is as unfounded as it is unnerving. Chimerism is a consideration in, but not a real obstacle to DNA identification. This essay explains …

Drawing Lines: Unrelated Probable Cause As A Prerequisite To Early Dna Collection, David H. Kaye

Faculty Scholarship

Swabbing the inside of a cheek has become part of the custodial arrest process in many jurisdictions. The majority view (thus far) is that routinely collecting DNA before conviction (and analyzing it, recording the results, and comparing them to DNA profiles from crime-scene databases) is consistent with Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. However, some judges and commentators have argued that DNA sampling in advance of a determination by a judge or grand jury of probable cause for the arrest or charge is unconstitutional. This essay shows that this demand is largely unfounded. Either warrantless, suspicionless DNA collection …

Enforcing Integrity, Katrice Bridges Copeland

Faculty Scholarship

Over the past several years, the marketing practices of large pharmaceutical companies have come under intense scrutiny. The government spends years investigating and building cases against pharmaceutical manufacturers that engage in illegal promotional activities to promote their drugs but does not prosecute them. Instead, the government enters into Corporate Integrity Agreements (CIAs) with the pharmaceutical giants. As a result, the pharmaceutical manufacturers are able to avoid the collateral consequences of conviction, such as exclusion from Medicare and Medicaid. Participation in Medicare and Medicaid is crucial for a pharmaceutical manufacturer because the government spends over $60 Billion per year through those …

The Criminalization Of The Theft Of Trade Secrets: An Analysis Of The Economic Espionage Act, Nicola Searle

IP Theory

No abstract provided.

Universal Jurisdiction And The Crime Of Aggression, Michael P. Scharf

Faculty Publications

In June 2010 in Kampala, Uganda, the states that are party to the Statute of the International Criminal Court agreed to amend the ICC Statute to add the crime of aggression to the Court's jurisdiction. One of the key compromises that made this possible was the adoption of a U.S.-proposed “understanding” which provided that the aggression amendment should not be interpreted as creating a right for national courts to prosecute the crime of aggression under universal jurisdiction. If, however, national courts already possess the right to do so under customary international law, stemming from the Nuremberg precedent, then the understanding …

Keynote: The Crisis And Criminal Justice, Bernard Harcourt

Faculty Scholarship

There has been a lot of recent debate over whether the economic crisis presents an opportunity to reduce prison populations and improve the state of criminal justice in this country. Some commentators suggest that the financial crisis has already triggered a move towards reducing the incarcerated population. Some claim that there is a new climate of bipartisanship on punishment. Kara Gotsch of the Sentencing Project, for example, suggests that we are now in a unique political climate embodied by the passage of the Second Chance Act under President George W. Bush – a climate that is substantially different than the …

Reflections On Juvenile Justice Reform In New York, Jeremy Travis

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Prosecution In 3-D, Kay L. Levine, Ronald F. Wright

Faculty Articles

Despite the multidimensional nature of the prosecutor’s work, legal scholars tend to offer a comparatively flat portrait of the profession, providing insight into two dimensions that shape the prosecutor’s performance. Accounts in the first dimension look outward toward external institutions that bear on prosecutors’ case-handling decisions, such as judicial review or the legislative codes that define crimes and punishments. Sketches in the second dimension encourage us to look inward, toward the prosecutor’s individual conscience.

In this Article we add depth to the existing portrait of prosecution by exploring a third dimension: the office structure and the professional identity it helps …

Confronting Race In The Criminal Justice System: The Aba's Racial Justice Improvement Project, Cynthia E. Jones

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

The Responsible Gun Ownership Ordinance And Novel Textual Questions About The Second Amendment, Owen Mcgovern

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

Reflections On The Atrophying Pardon Power, Paul Rosenzweig

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

Overcriminalizing Immigration, Jennifer M. Chacón

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

Reconsidering The Mistake Of Law Defense, Edwin Meese Iii, Paul J. Larkin, Jr.

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

Is The Exclusionary Rule Dead?, Craig M. Bradley

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

Obstruction Of Justice: Unwarranted Expansion Of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(C)(1), Sarah O'Rourke Schrup

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

Rethinking The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement's Criminal Copyright Enforcement Measures, Miriam Bitton

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

Beyond Procedural Justice: A Dialogic Approach To Legitimacy In Criminal Justice, Anthony Bottoms, Justice Tankebe

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.