Criminal Procedure Commons^™

The Right To A Fair Trial In China, Daphne Huang

Washington International Law Journal

The right to a fair trial is a growing international standard that protects defendant rights before, during, and after trial. Despite significant changes to China's Criminal Procedure Law and Criminal Law, China presently fails to comply with the standard. China's history of human rights abuses and the obstacles to compliance make enforcement of the right seem an insunnountable task. However, the trends of democratization and economic globalization, combined with optimistic reports of political reform in China provide hope that compliance with the right will eventually be achieved.

Are Criminal Defendants In Japan Truly Receiving Trials By Judges, Daniel H. Foote

Articles

Since my initial appointment as an assistant judge in April of 1950, I have served as a judge for over 39 1/2 years. For most of that time, over 30 years, I have handled criminal trials. Thus, one might say that I personally represent a living history of the current Code of Criminal Procedure. Human beings, however, inevitably tend to idle their time away; and I have been kept busy day in and day out handling cases and up until now have never had the chance to sit back and reflect dispassionately on the actual state of criminal trials. That …

Criminal Procedure -- Venue -- Third Circuit Finds Venue For Firearms Charge Improper In District Where Only Predicate Offense Occurred -- United States V. Palma-Ruedas, Peter Nicolas

Articles

No abstract provided.

A Matter Of Life And Death: Revising The Harmless Error Standard For Habeas Corpus Proceedings, David M. Bowman

Washington Law Review

Since 1967, federal courts have conducted harmless error analysis to determine whether to uphold a prisoner's conviction notwithstanding a constitutional error committed at the prisoner's trial. A review of the development of the harmless error doctrine reveals how the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts have solidified a rational impact test to determine harmlessness. More recently, the U.S. Supreme Court has moved away from a clearly defined test with respect to errors alleged by habeas corpus petitioners. This Comment analyzes the obstacles faced by habeas petitioners in establishing a magnitude of error sufficient for reversal under the newer doctrine. It …

Keeping Files On The File Keepers: When Prosecutors Are Forced To Turn Over The Personnel Files Of Federal Agents To Defense Lawyers, Lis Wiehl

Washington Law Review

The issue of whether criminal defense lawyers can compel federal prosecutors during pre-trial discovery to examine and turn over information in the personnel files of federal agents who will testify at trial has profoundly affected federal prosecutors, law enforcement agents, and defense lawyers alike. Demands for discovery of these files have risen steadily in recent years. In the hands of skilled defense counsel, information in a personnel file can be used to impeach an agent on the witness stand. For agents and prosecutors, much more is at stake than the way this information may be used at trial. Professional reputations …

Exceptional Sentencing In Washington After State V. Freitag: Pushing The Limits Of The Sentencing Reform Act, Lisa K. Strom

Washington Law Review

In 1981 the Washington state legislature enacted the Sentencing Reform Act (SRA) with the intent of reducing disparity in sentencing through the implementation of presumptive sentencing ranges. The SRA authorizes judges to depart from the presumptive range by imposing an exceptional sentence if appropriate mitigating or aggravating factors exist. Since 1981, virtually all courts have determined a factor's appropriateness by considering its relation to the factual nature of the crime itself. In State v. Freitag, however, the Washington Court of Appeals recently held that a trial court may rely on factors which do not directly relate to the nature …

The Rhetoric Of Innocence, William S. Laufer

Washington Law Review

This Article promotes the serious consideration of innocence in the criminal process, and gives meaning to the rhetoric surrounding the presumption of innocence. The first part illustrates the near irrelevance of innocence in an accusatorial system of justice where burdens of proof require proof of guilt The second and third parts of the Article discuss the meaning of the presumption of innocence. It is argued that legislatures and courts have ignored the tension between the conflicting goals of the criminal process by thinking of the presumption of innocence as a legal presumption. As a legal presumption, its effects are indistinguishable …

When Actual Innocence Is Irrelevant: Federal Habeas Relief For State Prisoners After Herrera V. Collins, Jill Hanson Reinmuth

Washington Law Review

In Herrera v. Collins, the United States Supreme Court held that federal habeas courts lack jurisdiction over claims of actual innocence based on newly discovered evidence because federal habeas courts ensure only that state prisoners are not held in violation of the United States Constitution. This Note argues that state prisoners are held in violation of the Constitution when state procedural rules constructively bar presentations of newly discovered evidence of innocence. This Note proposes that federal habeas courts should grant 1) an evidentiary hearing when a petitioner makes a substantial allegation of newly discovered evidence of innocence, and 2) relief …

Death Wish: What Washington Court Should Do When A Capital Defendant Wants To Die, Laura A. Rosenwald

Washington Law Review

The Washington Supreme Court held in State v. Dodd that a capital defendant may waive general review of conviction and sentence, and failed to determine whether a defendant may also withhold all mitigating evidence from the sentencing proceeding. The holding limits appellate oversight of death sentences to a degree that fails to ensure Washington's interest in reliable capital punishment. The court should have required general review of both conviction and sentencing in all capital cases. It also should have established a procedure for third-party presentation of mitigating evidence on behalf of capital defendants who insist on withholding such evidence.

Proportionality And Punishment: Double Counting Under The Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Gary Swearingen

Washington Law Review

The Federal Sentencing Guidelines enhance sentences when the commission of a crime includes certain kinds of egregious conduct. The guidelines define such egregious conduct in a way that allows the sentencing judge to enhance the defendant's sentence twice for the same conduct—once as a "characteristic" of the specific offense for which the defendant is convicted and again under a general "adjustments" section. The federal circuit courts are divided concerning whether the guidelines permit double counting. This Comment examines the courts' differing interpretations of the governing statutes and concludes that the guidelines do not permit double counting unless explicitly stated in …

From Japan's Death Row To Freedom, Daniel H. Foote

Washington International Law Journal

In 1975, the Japanese Supreme Court relaxed the standards governing the grant of retrials in criminal cases. Since then four death row inmates have obtained new trials and ultimate vindication through acquittals. The facts of the four cases are compelling: all involved highly publicized murders, rather harsh investigations leading to confessions that the defendants subsequently disavowed, and seemingly routine convictions followed by decades-long struggles by the convicted men to forestall their executions and secure retrials. Each of the men spent over 25 years on death row before the final determination that he had been unjustly convicted. In this article, Professor …

Speak Of The Missing Witness, And Surely He Shall Appear: The Missing Witness Doctrine And The Constitutional Rights Of Criminal Defendants—State V. Blair, 117 Wash. 2d 479, 816 P.2d 718 (1991), Carl T. Edwards

Washington Law Review

In State v. Blair, the Washington Supreme Court held for the first time that the state may use the missing witness doctrine against criminal defendants. Under the missing witness doctrine, which provides a permissive inference based on a defendant's failure to present available witnesses, prosecutors may now argue that a defendant failed to call certain witnesses because the defendant feared that their testimony would have been incriminating. This Note examines the court's decision in State v. Blair, the formulation of the missing witness doctrine adopted by the court, and the common law origins of the missing witness doctrine. This Note …

Applying Washington's Sentencing Reform Act To Mandatory Life Prisoners: An Ex Post Facto Violation, Steven J. Samario

Washington Law Review

Following the 1989 session of the Washington Legislature, the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (Board) began redetermining the minimum terms of prisoners serving a mandatory life sentence for crimes committed before July 1984. To calculate these new minimum terms, the legislature directed the Board to apply the same sentencing ranges enacted in the Washington Sentencing Reform Act, which took effect July 1, 1984. This Comment analyzes whether the state violated the United States Constitution when it ordered that these minimum terms be redetermined. It concludes that Washington courts should void the state's action because it violates the constitutional prohibition against ex …

Confessions And The Right To Silence In Japan, Daniel H. Foote

Articles

In several highly-publicized recent cases in Japan, individuals convicted of murder and sentenced to death were acquitted in retrials obtained after decades on death row. These so-called "death penalty retrial cases'" generated great controversy and considerable reflection about the criminal justice system in Japan. A central, substantive issue presented by these cases relates to the procurement and use of confessions; each of these cases-and several other major recent Japanese cases in which defendants have been acquitted following bitterly contested trials-turned on the validity of repudiated confessions.

Consequently, much recent commentary has focussed on conf essions and related issues. Not surprisingly, …

The "Same Criminal Conduct" Exception Of The Washington Sentencing Reform Act: Making The Punishment Fit The Crimes—State V. Collicott, 112 Wash. 2d 399, 771 P.2d 1137 (1989), Joseph P. Bennett

Washington Law Review

Under the Washington Sentencing Reform Act (SRA), two or more offenses committed in one transaction count as criminal history for the purpose of enhancing the sentence for each offense, unless the offenses encompass the "same criminal conduct." In State v. Collicott, the Washington Supreme Court held that offenses that share statutory elements constitute the same criminal conduct. The court's previous approach in State v. Dunaway focused on whether one crime furthered another. Analysis demonstrates that Dunaway better provides for proportionate sentences, and coupled with the merger doctrine, adequately prevents double punishment. Thus, the Washington Legislature should amend the SRA to …

"The Judge Would Then Be The Legislator": Dismantling Separation Of Powers In The Name Of Sentencing Reform—Mistretta V. United States, 109 S. Ct. 647 (1989), Kristin L. Timm

Washington Law Review

In the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 Congress created the United States Sentencing Commission, an independent agency in the judicial branch charged with promulgating binding sentencing guidelines for federal crimes. In Mistretta v. United States, the Supreme Court held that the Sentencing Reform Act does not violate separation of powers principles. This Note asserts that the Court misapplied separation of powers theory, and that the Sentencing Commission violates separation of powers in two ways. First, by delegating to the judicial branch the authority to create sentencing guidelines which have the effect of law, Congress impermissibly aggrandized the core function of …

Proof And Prejudice: A Constitutional Challenge To The Treatment Of Prejudicial Evidence In Federal Criminal Cases, D. Craig Lewis

Washington Law Review

The United States Supreme Court held its 1970 decision In re Winship that in criminal prosecutions the Constitution requires proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Professor Lewis argues that Winship governs the validity of evidence rules in criminal cases and requires that rules of evidence do not impair the reliability of criminal convictions. The author concludes that Federal Rule of Evidence 403, which permits the admission of prejudicial evidence unless the danger of unfair prejudice substantially outweighs probative value, violates this requirement. Rule 403 substantially increases the risk of erroneous decisionmaking and prescribes a balancing test that unconstitutionally places …

Washington's Comparative Proportionality Review: Toward Effective Appellate Review Of Death Penalty Cases Under The Washington State Constitution, W. Ward Morrison Jr.

Washington Law Review

In conducting mandatory comparative proportionality review of all cases in which the death penalty is imposed, the Washington Supreme Court compares the defendant's case with similar cases to ensure that the penalty is being applied consistently. In theory, the review promotes rational and non-arbitrary capital sentencing. In practice, the review has not been effectively applied. Continued use of ineffective appellate review for death sentences violates the Washington Constitution. This Comment explores the various problems associated with the review process, and proposes possible solutions.

Diagnosis Of The Current Code Of Criminal Procedure, Daniel H. Foote

Articles

Approximately 35 years have passed since the current Code of Criminal Procedure went into effect, and today the manner in which that Code is interpreted and applied appears nearly stable. In truth, for most of the provisions and systems under the current Code about which there had been many questions of interpretation and application (e.g., interpretation of the provisions concerning hearsay evidence, discovery, exclusion of illegally-obtained evidence, and abuse of the authority to prosecute), some sort of conclusion (ichid no ketsuron) has been reached. In that sense, matters have "stabilized." However, in my view much more deep-seated problems remain unresolved. …

Summary Of Tokugawa Criminal Justice, Daniel H. Foote

Articles

The summary set forth below is derived principally from the late Professor Yoshiro Hiramatsu's-comprehensive study of Tokugawa criminal justice. Hiramatsu's work focusses on the period from the promulgation of the Osadamegaki by the Shogun Yoshimune in 1742 through the end of the Tokugawa era in 1867. (As described by Professor Dan F. Henderson, Conciliation and Japanese Law, Tokugawa and Modern (1965), Vol. 1, at 7, fn. 26, the Osadamegaki, which consisted of two books, constituted "a compilation and rough codification of prior decrees and precedents", and "was the only such official attempt to systematize the law in the Tokugawa period." …

Dna Identification Tests And The Courts, Laurel Beeler, William R. Wiebe

Washington Law Review

This Comment assesses the current state of forensic DNA tests and analyzes whether courts should admit the results of these tests as evidence. Section I provides a background discussion of how DNA tests work. This knowledge is essential for attorneys and courts seeking to evaluate expert testimony and analyze important issues concerning the reliability and admissibility of DNA test results. Section I also proposes safeguards and standards to facilitate the judicial acceptance of forensic DNA tests. Section II discusses judicial approaches to the admissibility of novel scientific techniques such as DNA tests, and concludes that courts should admit the results …

Dna Identification Tests And The Courts, Laurel Beeler, William R. Wiebe

Washington Law Review

This Comment assesses the current state of forensic DNA tests and analyzes whether courts should admit the results of these tests as evidence. Section I provides a background discussion of how DNA tests work. This knowledge is essential for attorneys and courts seeking to evaluate expert testimony and analyze important issues concerning the reliability and admissibility of DNA test results. Section I also proposes safeguards and standards to facilitate the judicial acceptance of forensic DNA tests. Section II discusses judicial approaches to the admissibility of novel scientific techniques such as DNA tests, and concludes that courts should admit the results …

The Testimony Of Child Witnesses: Fact, Fantasy, And The Influence Of Pretrial Interviews, John R. Christiansen

Washington Law Review

Youth alone does not make a child witness' statements unreliable. Generally speaking, children are about as reliable as adults in reporting events they have actually perceived or experienced. However, a young child is, in certain respects, more vulnerable to suggestion than an adult and more liable to confuse memory of fact with memory of fantasy. The danger is that pretrial interviewing and preparation procedures will suggest facts and stimulate fantasies the child will thereafter report and recall as truth. Falsification of memory is far from inevitable and can be prevented by careful handling of the pretrial child witness procedures. But …

Court-Ordered Criminal Restitution In Washington, Scott Peterson

Washington Law Review

This survey is an overview of court-ordered restitution in Washington. It reconciles the case law interpreting the restitution statutes currently in effect in Washington. It compares and contrasts the statutes. Finally, it is an effort to identify areas of the law that need additional judicial or legislative clarification.

Jury Instructions: A Bibliography. Part Ii: Criminal Jury Instructions, Cheryl R. Nyberg, Jane Williams, Carol Boast

Librarians' Articles

Pattern jury instructions are used by trial judges to explain the law to jurors in language that they can understand and that provide consistency from one trial to another. This criminal jury instructions bibliography of 169 entries is a companion to a previous bibliography on civil jury instructions. An index to acronyms for both criminal and civil jury instructions is also included.

Prosecutorial Discretion In Japan: A Response, Daniel H. Foote

Articles

Marsha Goodman's Prosecutorial Discretion in Japan, with its thoroughly researched description of the manner in which that discretion is exercised-including several new case studies-is an important addition to English-language literature on the Japanese legal system and raises numerous interesting issues regarding the Japanese criminal justice system.

Goodman focuses much of her attention on the lengthy battle over the abuse of prosecutorial discretion doctrine in Japan. This discussion provides a fine example of a classic pattern of legal debate in Japan. As in this case, defense counsel familiar with an issue frequently initiate movements for change in criminal procedure standards …

Compelling Testimony In Alaska: The Coming Rejection Of Use And Derivative Use Immunity, Jeff M. Feldman

Articles

Until 1972, when the Supreme Court upheld a federal use andderivative use immunity statute in Kastigar v. United States, virtually every court that considered the issue of the compulsion of testimony favored transactional immunity. It appears that most courts interpreted the Supreme Court's 1892 decision in Counselman v. Hitchcock as finding only transactional immunity constitutional. Since Kastigar, the Alaska Supreme Court has had several opportunities totake sides in the debate over the grant of immunity constitutionally required to compel testimony. On each such occasion, the court has expressed a preference for transactional immunity, but has carefullyavoided resolving the …

Entry To Arrest A Suspect In A Third Party's Home: Ninth Circuit Opens The Door—United States V. Underwood, 717 F.2d 482 (1983), Cert. Denied, 104 S. Ct. 1309 (1984), Sarah L. Klevit

Washington Law Review

This Note examines the Supreme Court's conflicting policies and how the Underwood court resolved them. To set a framework for analyzing the case, it discusses the Supreme Court's protection of privacy rights in the home and the Court's recent limitations on the standing doctrine. The Note reviews the facts and holding of Underwood, then illustrates both the problems with the court's reasoning and those created by its decision to uphold the search. Finally, this Note suggests that the Ninth Circuit's approach in Underwood was wrong and proposes, instead, a two-step test for analyzing similar search and seizure cases. Not only …

Informants' Tips And Probable Cause: The Demise Of Aguilar-Spinelli—Illinois V. Gates, 103 S. Ct. 2317 (1983), Laura J. Buckland

Washington Law Review

The Supreme Court was expected to announce a decision in Illinois v. Gates modifying the exclusionary rule to include a "good-faith" exception. "[W]ith apologies to all," however, the Court declined to rule on that issue. The Supreme Court instead abandoned the Aguilar-Spinelli test for assessing probable cause based on information derived from informants. The Court replaced the Aguilar-Spinelli test with a "totality of the circumstances" approach, and upheld the search warrant in Gates. Gates is the first Supreme Court decision to specifically address the use of anonymous informants' tips as the probable cause basis for securing a search warrant. Gates …

Taking Witherspoon Seriously: The Search For Death-Qualified Jurors, Eric Schnapper

Articles

This Article assesses, in light of fifteen years of judicial experience under Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510 (1968), the meaning and impact of that decision and the practical and legal problems that arise in its application. The analysis draws heavily on actual voir dires reported in published opinions and considers the problems that judges and attorneys face when attempting to distinguish jurors who cannot be excluded under Witherspoon(commonly referred to as "death-qualified" jurors) from jurors who may be excluded for cause. Part II discusses the ways in which Witherspoon altered the law regarding jury selection in capital …