Criminal Law Commons^™

Whose Justice - Reconciling Universal Juristidiction With Democratic Principles, Diane Orentlicher

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Was Bedeutet "Terrorismus?", Michael P. Malloy

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Lay Participation In The Japanese Justice System, Kent Anderson, Mark Nolan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Authors introduce and critique Japan's proposed quasi-jury or lay assessor system (saiban-in seido). The proposed mixed-court will have judges and lay people deciding together both guilt and sentences in serious criminal cases. Its proponents have promised that the lay assessor system will produce better justice in the courts and a more democratic society for Japan. The Authors first expose the competing interests in the lay assessor drafting process, examining their subtly but importantly varied proposals. Second, the Authors historically review lay participation in Japan, arguing that it has failed to deliver better justice and more democracy because the existing …

Unfunding Terror - Perspectives On Unfunding Terror (Panel One), Jimmy Gurulé

Journal Articles

According to the FBI, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that claimed the lives of 2,973 innocent civilians required as much as $500,000 to stage. At the time, al Qaeda, the jihadi terrorist organization responsible for the mass killings, was operating on an annual budget between $30 and $50 million. However, despite the obvious fact that terrorists need money to support their terrorist operations and organizational infrastructure, prior to 9/11, preventing the financing of terrorism was not a priority for the United States or international community. Moreover, a comprehensive legal framework to …

The Sexual Assault Crisis In The United States Air Force Academy, Colleen Dalton

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note examines the systemic crisis of sexual assault at the United States Air Force Academy, highlighting how military culture, legal frameworks, and institutional failures perpetuate this issue. It argues that comprehensive legal and cultural reforms are necessary to address the pervasive gender discrimination and retaliation against victims. The analysis emphasizes the need for Congress to modernize the Uniform Code of Military Justice and for the military to adopt a model that promotes gender equality and accountability.

Comment, Time For A Legislative Change: Florida's Stagnant Standard Governing Mental Competency For Execution, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Justice Still Fails: A Review Of Recent Efforts To Compensate Individuals Who Have Been Unjustly Convicted And Later Exonerated, Adele Bernhard

Articles & Chapters

With this Article, I hope to motivate state legislators to enact responsible, practical compensation statutes and encourage courts to entertain state law and civil rights claims brought by those who have been unjustly convicted and later exonerated. I begin by looking at the reasons for enacting compensation statutes: uniformity, practicality, popular support, and fairness. Next, I dissect the arguments raised by opponents. Finally, I turn to recent judicial decisions hinting that courts may be stepping in where legislatures fear to tread.

How Different Is Death? Jury Sentencing In Capital And Non-Capital Cases Compared, Nancy J. King

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Drawing upon a recent study of felony jury sentencing in Kentucky, Virginia, and Arkansas, this essay highlights some of the similarities and differences between jury sentencing in capital cases and jury sentencing in non-capital cases. Unlike jury sentencing in capital cases, jury sentencing in non-capital cases includes functional differentials in judge and jury options for sentencing, and fewer controls on arbitrary decision-making. Jury sentencing in both contexts shares the potential for reluctance on the part of elected judges to reduce jury sentences, information gaps on the part of jurors in setting sentences, and, above all, service as a tool in …

Upending Status: A Comment On Switching, Inequality, And The Idea Of The Reasonable Person, Victoria Nourse

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article reviews Murder and the Reasonable Man: Passion and Fear in the Criminal Courtroom, by Cynthia Lee (2003).

Cynthia Lee has written a hard-hitting and insightful book on bias and the law of homicide. Her purpose is to document how murder law’s “reasonable person” may absorb the unreason of prejudice in its various forms (from biases of race to gender to sexual orientation). Doctrinally, Lee’s book is wide-ranging and ambitious, covering a variety of standard defenses, such as provocation (chs. 1–3) and self-defense (chs. 5–7), in contexts ranging from excessive use of force to intimate homicide, from hate …

Rethinking Crime Legislation: History And Harshness, Victoria Nourse

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

There is a truth about the criminal law that scholars evade as much as they criticize: the criminal law is produced by legislators (rather than the experts). The author states she does not know of any way to make law in a democracy other than through the voters' representatives. And, yet, it is the standard pose of the criminal law scholar to denigrate legislatures and politicians as vindictive, hysterical, or stupid. All of these things may be true but name-calling is a poor substitute for analysis. As in constitutional law, so too in criminal law, it is time to put …

Defense-Oriented Judges, Abbe Smith

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In this essay, I argue in favor of so-called "defense-oriented judges." Instead of the increasingly prosecution-oriented judicial aspirants who ascend to the bench, we need more judges who care about protecting the rights of the accused, who will put the government to the test, and who have some compassion for those who come before them. Instead of judges who are nothing more than rubber-stamps for prosecutors, deferring to prosecutors at every step because they believe most defendants are in fact guilty, or because they dislike defense lawyers, we need judges who are truly neutral and disinterested. Instead of judges who …

Too Much Heart And Not Enough Heat: The Short Life And Fractured Ego Of The Empathic, Heroic Public Defender, Abbe Smith

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In this Article I will examine Professor Ogletree's paradigm for motivating and sustaining public defenders ten years after he proposed it. I will discuss whether Professor Ogletree's paradigm works for defenders in the predominantly high-volume, urban settings in which they practice, and if so, for how long. If the paradigm works for short-term defenders only - or those with smaller caseloads - then perhaps it is a temporary, not a sustaining, motivation. I will examine whether the paradigm is helpful- on an aspirational level if nothing else – or whether it emphasizes motivations that are ultimately self-defeating. After discussing Professor …

The Entrapment Defense: An Interview, Paul Marcus

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Transnational And Sub-National In Global Crimes, Lan Cao

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Lawrence And Garner: The Love (Or At Least Sexual Attraction) That Finally Dared Speak Its Name, Paris R. Baldacci

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article examines the legal evolution from *Bowers v. Hardwick* to Lawrence v. Texas, highlighting how the latter marked a pivotal shift in recognizing LGBTQ+ rights by emphasizing personal autonomy and dignity. It underscores the significance of narrative strategies in shaping judicial decisions, particularly in *Lawrence*, where the plaintiffs' personal stories influenced the Court's ruling.

The Battle To Establish An Adversarial Trial System In Italy, William T. Pizzi, Mariangela Montagna

Publications

No abstract provided.

A Different Kind Of Labor Law: Vagrancy Law And The Regulation Of Harvest Labor, 1913-1924, Ahmed A. White

Publications

No abstract provided.

Gambling With Ethics And Constitutional Rights: A Look At Issues Involved With Contingent Fee Arrangements In Criminal Defense Practice, Adam Silberlight

Seattle University Law Review

This Article attempts to shed light on the use of a contingent fee arrangement in criminal defense, and offers differing views pertaining to this topic. First, this Article will generally describe what a contingent fee is. Second, the role and potential application of the contingent fee in both criminal and civil settings will be discussed. Third, problems associated with such an arrangement in criminal defense practice will be addressed, as will certain positive aspects of such an arrangement. Finally, this article will discuss how lawmakers could address this issue to ensure that contingency arrangements cannot be abused.

Summary Of Ebeling V. State, 120 Nev. Adv. Rep. 50, Scott Whittemore

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The defendant contended that the district court erred in sentencing him on redundant convictions.

Summary Of Johnson V. State, Christina H. Wang

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Appeal from a judgment of conviction, pursuant to a guilty plea, of two counts of uttering a forged instrument and one count of principal to commit uttering a forged instrument.

Summary Of Mcconnell V. State, 120 Nev. Adv. Rep. 105, Nevada Law Journal

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Appellant Robert McConnell murdered Brian Pierce in August 2002. The State of Nevada charged McConnell with first-degree murder and sought capital sentencing. The State alleged two theories: deliberate, premeditated murder and felony murder during the perpetration of a burglary. McConnell represented himself, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, and presented a case in mitigation at his penalty hearing. The jury returned a sentence of death. Initially, McConnell moved to waive his appeal but eventually reconsidered and authorized counsel to fully brief all issues on appeal. Specifically, McConnell challenged the propriety of his penalty hearing and death sentence on various grounds. The …

Summary Of Means V. State, 120 Nev. Adv. Op. 101, Justin L. Carley

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Clyde Means was charged with one count of open or gross lewdness and three counts of sexual assault upon his nineteen year old son. At trial, the jury was empaneled but the district court conducted a hearing to determine the admissibility of Means’ prior bad acts. Because the district court ruled that the acts were admissible, Means, through his attorneys, negotiated a plea bargain. Means would plead guilty to one count of sexual assault in exchange for dismissal of the other charges. Means was informed that he would face two to twenty years in prison, fines, and be required to …

Summary Of Pineda V. State, 120 Nev. Adv. Rep 24, James Davis

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Appellant appealed his jury conviction of second-degree murder in the Second Judicial District Court. Appellant raised three issues on appeal. They were: (1) Whether the defendant waived his right to appeal the court’s ruling in limine that his prior felony conviction could be used for impeachment purposes when he introduced his convictions during direct examination. (2) Whether the proper “self-defense” jury instruction was provided to the jury, over the defendants proposed, but rejected, alternative jury instructions. (3) Whether expert testimony is admissible during the penalty phase, when the prospective expert has only generalized knowledge regarding the specifics of the case.

Summary Of Rudin V. State, 120 Nev. Adv. Rep. 17, Mike Feliciano

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Appellant Margaret Rudin (Rudin) married her husband, Ron, in September of 1987. In January of 1995, Ron’s remains were discovered at Lake Mohave, he apparently had been murdered. Shortly after the discovery of her husband’s body, Rudin boarded a plane to St. Louis, Missouri. On April 17, 1997, Rudin was indicted by the Clark County grand jury on three counts for (1) unauthorized surreptitious intrusion of privacy by listening device, (2) murder with the use of a deadly weapon and (3) accessory to murder. A warrant was then issued for her arrest. Rudin was subsequently apprehended in Massachusetts in November …

Summary Of State V. Williams, 120 Nev. Adv. Rep. 52, Scott Whittemore

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Following her conviction for six counts of driving with prohibited substance in blood or urine, one count of use of controlled substance, and one count of possession of controlled substance, petitioner sought writ of habeas corpus.

Summary Of Vest V. State, 120 Nev. Ad. Op. 75, Amanda Yen

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

This case was an appeal from a judgment of conviction, entered pursuant to a jury verdict of one count of burglary, one count of obtaining and using personal identification information of another, one count of fraudulent use of a credit or debit card, and eight counts of possession of a credit card without the cardholder’s consent.

Summary Of Zabeti V. State, 120 Nev. Adv. Rep. 60, Z. Ryan Pahnke

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

After the Eighth Judicial District Court denied defendant’s motion to suppress evidence, he was convicted on a jury’s verdict of possession of a controlled substance. Defendant appealed.

Making It Easier To Milk The Cow: The Southern District Of New York Collapses The Culpable Participation Doctrine And Sidesteps The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, Matthew W. Goulding

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Crime, Law, And The Community: Dynamics Of Incarceration In New York City, Jeffrey A. Fagan

Faculty Scholarship

Random Family (LeBlanc 2003) tells the story of a tangled family and social network of young people in New York City in which prison threads through their lives since childhood. Early on, we meet a young man named Cesar, who sold small amounts of crack and heroin in the streets near his home in the Bronx. During one of his many spells in jail, Cesar sees his father pushing a cafeteria cart in the Rikers Island Correctional Facility, New York City’s jail. Cesar had not seen his father in many years, but he was not very surprised to see him …

Reappraising T.L.O.'S Special Needs Doctrine In An Era Of School-Law Enforcement Entanglement, Joshua Gupta-Kagan

Faculty Scholarship

This essay presents one doctrinal method for lawyers to defend children accused of criminal charges in juvenile or adult court: attacking the applicability of the nearly twenty-year old case, New Jersey v. T.L.O. to most school searches. T.L.O. established a lower standard for searches of students by school officials, but it explicitly did not decide what standard the government must meet to justify school searches performed by police officers, creating a doctrinal starting point for advocates to raise challenges to searches involving police. More fundamentally, the T.L.O. Court based its decision on the presumption that firm gates separate public school …