Criminal Procedure Commons^™

Street Diversion And Decarceration, Mary Fan

Articles

States seeking more cost-effective approaches than imprisoning drug offenders have explored innovations such as drug courts and deferred prosecution. These treatment-based programs generally involve giving diversion discretion to prosecutors and judges, actors further down the criminal processing chain than police. The important vantage of police at the gateway of entry into the criminal system has been underutilized. [para] The article explores developing the capacity of police to take a public health approach to drug offending by engaging in street diversion to treatment rather than criminal processing. This approach entails giving police therapeutic discretion—the power to sort who gets treatment rather …

Summary Of Sanchez-Dominguez V. State, 130 Nev. Adv. Op. 10, Brady Briggs

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined two issues: (1) whether the felony murder rule applies to killings which occur only after all of the elements of the underlying felony are complete, and (2) whether the felony murder rule requires that a killing be caused by the commission of the underlying felony.

Summary Of Peciado V. State, 130 Nev. Adv. Op. 6, Geordan G. Logan

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined two issues: (1) whether due process requires that all sidebar proceedings be made a part of the record; and (2) whether prospective jurors who are anything less than unequivocal about their impartiality should be excused for cause.

Tyranny By Proxy: State Action And The Private Use Of Deadly Force, John L. Watts

Notre Dame Law Review

The Article begins in Part I with a discussion of the Supreme Court’s opinion and holding in Tennessee v. Garner. It then describes the continuing application of the fleeing felon rule to private actors despite the Court’s holding in Garner.

Part II describes the state action doctrine, examines its history, and clarifies its purpose. It explains why the Court’s early focus on enhancing individual autonomy and federalism as the purpose of the state action doctrine was only partially correct. In fact, the doctrine enhances many of the familiar constitutional strategies for the prevention of tyranny including: separation of powers, democratic …

Could You Use That In A Sentence, Please?: The Intersection Of Prosecutorial Ethics, Relevant Conduct Sentencing, And Criminal Rico Indictments, William S. Mcclintock

Notre Dame Law Review

This Note highlights a potential prosecutorial abuse at the intersection of RICO and the Sentencing Guidelines; specifically, how a weak RICO charge can create an unfair sentencing advantage over a defendant who is acquitted of that charge but is still convicted of at least one other count. Because this sentencing strategy involves two complex statutory frameworks, this Note requires a detailed overview of both the RICO Act and the current sentencing regime; this is necessary to clearly demonstrate how a faulty RICO indictment can be used to conceptually tie together otherwise unrelated acts and achieve an increased sentence under “relevant …

Protecting More Than The Front Page: Codifying A Reporter’S Privilege For Digital And Citizen Journalists, Kathryn A. Rosenbaum

Notre Dame Law Review

This Note will first explain, in Part I, why journalists need to be protected, and detail the history of reporters invoking a reporter’s privilege in court to protect themselves from revealing their sources or information. It will then discuss Branzburg v. Hayes in Section II.A. Section II.B briefly examines circuits’ receptivity to statutory or constitutional protections of reporters. The Supreme Court has stated that Congress could pass a law to protect reporters. However, while multiple federal shield laws have been proposed, none have been passed. The most recent proposal occurred in 2013, and as of December 2013, the Senate version …

Contempt, Status, And The Criminalization Of Non-Conforming Girls, Cynthia Godsoe

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bridging The Cellular Divide: A Search For Consensus Regarding Law Enforcement Access To Historical Cell Data, Zachary Ross

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Training Curriculum: Responding To Sexual Abuse Of Youth In Custody: Addressing The Needs Of Boys, Girls, And Gender Nonconforming Youth - Notification Of Curriculum Use (Facilitator’S Guide), Brenda V. Smith, Jaime M. Yarussi, Rebecca Heinsen, Melissa C. Loomis, Caleb J. Bess, Tonya Davis, Lisa Capers, Kevin Dubose, Takiya Wheeler, Dr. Robert Bidwell

Research Reports & White Papers

The enclosed Responding to Sexual Abuse of Youth in Custody: Addressing the Needs of Boys, Girls, and Gender Nonconforming Youth curriculum was developed by the Project on Addressing Prison Rape at American University, Washington College of Law as part of contract deliverables for the National PREA Resource Center (PRC), a cooperative agreement between the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards served as the basis for the curriculum’s content and development with the goal of the Responding to Sexual Abuse of Youth in Custody: Addressing the …

The Unexonerated: Factually Innocent Defendants Who Plead Guilty, John H. Blume, Rebecca K. Helm

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

Several recent high profile cases, including the case of the West Memphis Three, have revealed (again), that factually innocent defendants do plead guilty. And, more disturbingly, in many of the cases, the defendant’s innocence is known, or at least highly suspected, at the time the plea is entered. Innocent defendants plead guilty most often, but not always, in three sets of cases: first, low level offenses where a quick guilty plea provides the key to the cellblock door; second, cases where defendants have been wrongfully convicted, prevail on appeal, and are then offered a plea bargain which will assure their …

Should Minnesota Recognize A State Constitutional Right To A Criminal Appeal?, Stan Keillor

Hamline Law Review

abstract

Jury Nullification As A Tool To Balance The Demands Of Law And Justice, Aaron Mcknight

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Special Administrative Measures: An Example Of Counterterror Excesses And Their Roots In U.S. Criminal Justice, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This article examines the creation and implementation of pretrial Special Administrative Measures [SAMs], a version of pretrial solitary confinement now used most often to confine terror suspects in the federal criminal justice system. Through an in-depth archival study, this article brings attention to the importance of 20th-century criminal justice trends to the 21st-century response to the threat of terrorism, including an increasingly preventive focus and decreasing judicial checks on executive action. The findings suggest that practices believed to be excessive responses to the threat of terrorism are in fact a natural outgrowth of late modern criminal justice.

A Primer On The Use Of Dangerous Trial Exhibits, Robert M. Jarvis

Faculty Scholarship

It sometimes is necessary at trial to introduce a dangerous exhibit-such as a bomb, gun, or knife-to bolster a client's story, discredit an opposing witness, or give the jury a clearer picture of the underlying events. Doing so, however, requires care and planning. Not only do many courts have specific rules regarding how such exhibits are to be noticed, handled, and displayed, but there are also numerous practical and tactical considerations that must be weighed. In this Article, the author presents the first comprehensive discussion regarding dangerous trial exhibits and offers suggestions for their successful use.

You Can't Handle The Truth! Trial Juries And Credibility, Renée M. Hutchins

Faculty Scholarship

Every now and again, we get a look, usually no more than a glimpse, at how the justice system really works. What we see—before the sanitizing curtain is drawn abruptly down—is a process full of human fallibility and error, sometimes noble, more often unfair, rarely evil but frequently unequal.

The central question, vital to our adjudicative model, is: How well can we expect a jury to determine credibility through the ordinary adversary processes of live testimony and vigorous impeachment? The answer, from all I have been able to see is: not very well.

Lethal Injection And The Right Of Access: The Intersection Of The Eighth And First Amendments, Timothy F. Brown

Faculty Publications, School of Management

The Spring and Summer of 2014 have witnessed renewed debate on the constitutionality of the death penalty after a series of high profile legal battles concerning access to lethal injection protocols and subsequent questionable executions. Due to shortages in the drugs traditionally used for the lethal injection, States have changed their lethal injection protocols to shield information from both the prisoners and the public. Citing public safety concerns, the States refuse to release information concerning the procurement of the drugs to the public. Such obstruction hinders the public’s ability to determine the cruelty of the punishment imposed and creates the …

Anti-Justice, Melanie D. Wilson

Scholarly Articles

This Article contends that, despite their unique, ethical duty to “seek justice,” prosecutors regularly fail to fulfill this ethical norm when removed from the traditional, adversarial courtroom setting. Examples abound. For instance, in 2013, Edward Snowden leaked classified information revealing a government-operated surveillance program known as PRISM. That program allows the federal government to collect metadata from phone companies and email accounts and to monitor phone conversations. Until recently, prosecutors relied on some of this covertly acquired intelligence to build criminal cases against American citizens without informing the accused. In failing to notify defendants, prosecutors violated the explicit statutory directives …

Ghana’S Jury System On Trial, Dennis D. Adjei

Duke Law Master of Judicial Studies Theses

Civil cases in Ghana are tried by the bench. Criminal cases are also handled by bench trials, except for certain indictable offenses, which may be tried by a judge or jury. Not all serious offenses are tried by jury. And a trend is developing away from jury to bench trials. For example, treason is punishable by death, but the case is determined in a bench trial by three High Court Judges. Robbery, which had been an indictable offense, is now tried by either jury or bench trial at the discretion of the Attorney-General; and prosecutors consistently have been opting for …

Compulsory Dna Collection And A Juvenile's Best Interests, Kevin Lapp

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

After The Cheering Stopped: Decriminalization And Legalism's Limits, Wayne A. Logan

Scholarly Publications

To the great relief of many, American criminal law, long known for its harshness and expansive prohibitory reach, is now showing signs of softening. A prime example of this shift is seen in the proliferation of laws decriminalizing the personal possession of small amounts of marijuana: today, almost twenty states and dozens of localities have embraced decriminalization in some shape or form, with more laws very likely coming to fruition soon. Despite enjoying broad political support, the decriminalization movement has, however, failed to curb a core feature of criminalization: police authority to arrest individuals suspected of possessing marijuana. Arrests for …

Democracy Enhancement In Criminal Law And Procedure, Janet Moore

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

There is a democracy deficit at the intersection of crime, race, and poverty. The causes and consequences of hyperincarceration disproportionately affect those least likely to mount an effective oppositional politics: poor people and people of color. This Article breaks new ground by arguing that the democracy deficit calls for a democracy-enhancing theory of criminal law and procedure that modifies traditional justifications of retributivism and deterrence by prioritizing self-governance. Part I contextualizes the argument within cyclical retrenchments in movements for racial and economic justice. Part II sketches the contours of a democracy-enhancing theory. Parts III and IV turn that theoretical lens …

Masculinity & Title Ix: Bullying And Sexual Harassment Of Boys In The American Liberal State, Nancy Chi Cantalupo

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Reflections On An Extraordinary Career: Thoughts About Gerald Caplan’S Retirement, Michael Vitiello

McGeorge Law Review

No abstract provided.

Substance And Procedure In The Reform Of Criminal Sentencing, Franklin E. Zimring

McGeorge Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reforming California Sentencing Practice And Policy: Are We There Yet?, Michael Vitiello

McGeorge Law Review

No abstract provided.

Does Prison Reform Bring Sentencing Reform? The Congress, The Courts, And The Structural Injunction, Brian K. Landsberg

McGeorge Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Expanding Use Of Genetic And Psychological Evidence: Finding Coherence In The Criminal Law?, Michael Vitiello

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Cold Comfort Food: A Systematic Examination Of The Rituals And Rights Of The Last Meal, Sarah Gerwig-Moore

Articles

Last meals are a resilient ritual accompanying executions in the United States. Yet states vary considerably in the ways they administer last meals. This paper explores the recent decision in Texas to abolish the tradition altogether. It seeks to understand, through consultation of historical and contemporary sources, what the ritual signifies. We then go on to analyze execution procedures in all 35 of the states that allowed executions in 2010, and show that last meal allowances are paradoxically at their most expansive in states traditionally associated with high rates of capital punishment (Texas now being the exception to that rule.) …

Understanding Violent Adolescent Males: Implications For Post Release Recidivism, Michael O. Johnston Ph.D.

2010-2016 Archived Posters

Simple assault is common among mid-adolescent males in Iowa and throughout the United States. The barriers and supports that exist for mid-adolescents when choosing nonviolence is well-documented in past research. Little is known about the choice of nonviolence for mid-adolescent males who have been labeled delinquent by juvenile courts.

Juror Internet Misconduct: A Survey Of New Hampshire Superior Court Judges, Brooke Lovett Shilo

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “The Constitution guarantees criminal defendants the right to a fair trial before an impartial jury and the right to confront the evidence against them. When a juror improperly accesses the Internet during a criminal trial, the defendant is denied these constitutional rights. The problem of outside information entering the courtroom is as old as our judicial system. As early as 1907, Justice Holmes observed that, “The theory of our [criminal justice] system is that the conclusions to be reached in a case will be induced only by evidence and argument in open court, and not by any outside influence, …