Criminal Procedure Commons^™

An Introduction To Comparative Jury Systems, Nancy S. Marder

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

Should Criminal Juries Give Reasons For Their Verdicts?: The Spanish Experience And The Implications Of The European Court Of Human Rights Decision In Taxquet V. Belgium, Stephen C. Thaman

Chicago-Kent Law Review

This article uses the European Court of Human Rights judgment of Taxquet v. Belgium, decided by the Grand Chamber in 2010, which held that in some cases the trial jury's failure to give reasons for its verdict of guilt could constitute a violation of the right to a fair trial under Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights, as a springboard for discussing whether or not criminal trial juries in Europe and the United States should be more accountable for their verdicts. The article explains the special jury verdicts traditionally used in Europe and the new Spanish requirement …

The French Jury At A Crossroads, Valerie P. Hans, Claire M. Germain

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Since its inception, the French jury system has generated controversy and passionate argument. The jury originated at the time of the French Revolution as a potent symbol of democratic self-governance. Alternately praised and attacked by successive governments over two centuries, the jury became entrenched in the French justice system and in the French mind. Yet, in recent years, the French jury's future has become the subject of intense political debate. This article provides an overview of historical changes to the French jury system, describing how it was transformed from an independent body of lay citizens into a mixed decisionmaking body …

Jury Trials For Violent Hate Crimes In Russia: Is Russian Justice Only For Ethnic Russians?, Nikolai Kovalev

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The article examines issues of potential anti-victim jury bias in hate crime trials of skinheads in Russia. The study is based on the analysis of court transcripts and interviews with judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and victims' lawyers who participated in four high profile criminal cases. The cases selected for analysis resulted in scandalous acquittals, which raised many questions within the Russian society as to whether lay citizens can and should adjudicate hate crimes committed against members of ethnic and racial minority groups. The results of the study have revealed that the juries in these cases did not demonstrate any bias …

Silent Lay Judges—Why Their Influence In The Community Falls Short Of Expectations, Stefan Machura

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Lay judges in Germany serving at mixed courts are ascribed an "education function," and they should communicate their experience. Data from surveys of German lay assessors are used to investigate this claim. The results are likely to apply to other countries which employ mixed courts. While many lay judges talk about their experience with their families—partly to ease their minds—they are more reluctant to tell colleagues and friends. For a start, many lay judges are no longer part of the work force because they are older in age, and therefore, have a limited number of contacts. Lay judges serving at …

Metropolitan And Town Juries: The Influence Of Social Context On Lay Participation, María Inés Bergoglio

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Lay participation in Argentinean criminal trials, even if prescribed by the 1853 Argentine Constitution, was not established in the country until 2004, when the province of Cordoba created a mixed court to deal with cases of aberrant crimes and corruption.

This article describes the initial experience with mixed courts in the metropolitan area of Great Cordoba, and in small cities of the province, to depict the impact of different social contexts on lay participation. The support for citizen participation in legal decision making, the responses to the introduction of the new mixed courts, and jury-judge agreement rates are some of …

The Canadian Criminal Jury, Regina Schuller, Neil Vidmar

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The Canadian criminal jury system has some unique characteristics. In contrast to American law, that gives precedent to free speech over fair trial, and English law, that favors fair trial over free speech, Canadian law occupies a middle ground balancing these competing values. Jury selection procedure in most trials is similar to that of England: jurors are assumed to be "impartial between the Queen and the accused" and are selected without voir dire. However, in cases involving exceptional pretrial publicity or involving accused persons from racial or ethnic minority groups, jurors are vetted by a "challenge for cause" process in …

Two Weeks At The Old Bailey: Jury Lessons From England, Nancy S. Marder

Chicago-Kent Law Review

I spent two weeks observing jury trials and interviewing judges and barristers at the Old Bailey in London. There were several jury practices at the Old Bailey that would benefit American jurors, such as providing them with a "jury bundle," and we should introduce such practices in the United States. There are other practices, such as eliminating peremptory challenges, which are worth adopting over time because there would be some initial resistance. There are many practices that the two systems share in common, such as allowing jurors to take notes, to ask questions of witnesses, and to have a written …

Japan's Quasi-Jury And Grand Jury Systems As Deliberative Agents Of Social Change: De-Colonial Strategies And Deliberative Participatory Democracy, Hiroshi Fukurai

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Direct participatory democracy touches Japan anew in its current attempt to reform and reconstruct the criminal justice system through the introduction of two tiered systems of quasi-jury (saiban-in) and grand jury (kensatsu shinsakai) institutions. Not only did the twin systems of lay deliberation help create an effective and investigative mechanism against the corporate predation and governmental abuse of power, they also allowed the prosecution of military crimes committed by U.S. Armed Forces personnel and their families stationed in Japan. My paper then examines the historical evolution of these newly established lay justice institutions, exploring the increasing adoption of lay forms …

Glass Cages In The Dock?: Presenting The Defendant To The Jury, David Tait

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The architecture of the courtroom provides insights into the philosophy of justice espoused by the community—it embodies particular perspectives about the presumption of innocence, the dignity of the person, the right to effective representation, and more generally, the right to a fair trial. The physical position of the accused in a criminal trial, the subject of this Article, varies considerably between jurisdictions, from a privileged place at the defense table to a dock isolated from other courtroom participants. The legal issues associated with the place of the accused are particularly evident when the dock is enclosed in glass. This Article …

Jury Selection And Jury Trial In Spain: Between Theory And Practice, Mar Jimeno-Bulnes

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Even though Spain has traditionally followed a civil law system, it is at present the only European country to have introduced the common law model of jury trials into its criminal proceedings through the Spanish Jury Law of 1995. Despite counterproposals for mixed courts composed of professional judges consulting with lay assessors (escabinado), the Spanish jury system is now fully functional and diligently applies its sometimes extremely complex content. The rules on jury selection mean that the selection process is tong and somewhat tedious in both theory and practice. However, theory and practice can differ in jury trials, as a …

Criminal Procedure And The Racial Profiling Issue For Professor Gates And Sergeant Crowley, L. Darnell Weeden

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

"Your Honor, May I Have That In Writing?" A Proposed Response To Violations Of The Federal Sentencing Written Reasons Requirement, Judy Ann Clausen

UF Law Faculty Publications

A disturbing trend has emerged in our federal courts. District judges are ignoring the statutory mandate to state in writing specific reasons for deviating from the range recommended by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Rather than vacating these out-of-range sentences, U.S. Courts of Appeals are affirming the sentences despite the fact that they are imposed in violation of law. This article proposes a solution to this problem.

In Part I, this article explores the historical and legal context for the written reasons requirement. Part II explores two circuit splits surrounding the written reasons requirement. Part III recommends that appellate courts adopt …

Addressing Human Trafficking Along The United States-Mexico Border: The Need For A Bilateral Partnership, Rocio Garza

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note argues that human trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border is a complex issue rooted in economic disparities, weak legal frameworks, and the challenges of distinguishing trafficking from smuggling. It advocates for a bilateral partnership between the United States and Mexico to address the transnational nature of the crime, emphasizing the need for coordinated efforts in prosecution, victim protection, and prevention.

Absolute Immunity: A License To Rape Justice At Will, Prentice L. White

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The International Control Of Illegal Drugs And The U.N. Treaty Regime: Preventing Or Causing Human Rights Violations?, Daniel Heilmann

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The international drug control regime, established to preserve human health and welfare, faces criticism for prioritizing criminalization and punishment over education, harm reduction, and human rights. The regime's prohibition-oriented approach, while comprehensive, is challenged by modern human rights standards and the evolving illegal drug market. The article examines whether the regime remains effective and aligned with contemporary human rights principles, emphasizing the need to balance control measures with human rights protections.

The Criminal Class Action, Adam S. Zimmerman, David Jaros

All Faculty Scholarship

Over the past ten years, in a variety of high-profile corporate scandals, prosecutors have sought billions of dollars in restitution for crimes ranging from environmental dumping and consumer scams to financial fraud. In what we call “criminal class action” settlements, prosecutors distribute that money to groups of victims as in a civil class action while continuing to pursue the traditional criminal justice goals of retribution and deterrence.

Unlike civil class actions, however, the emerging criminal class action lacks critical safeguards for victims entitled to compensation. While prosecutors are encouraged, and even required by statute, to seek victim restitution, they lack …

The Impact Of Ashcroft V. Iqbal On Pleading, Alexander A. Reinert

Articles

The article critically examines the Supreme Court’s decision in *Ashcroft v. Iqbal*, which extended the plausibility pleading standard to all civil actions, and argues that this ruling has led to significant inconsistencies in lower court applications, raised Seventh Amendment concerns, and potentially excluded meritorious cases from judicial review. The analysis emphasizes the need for clarity and uniformity in pleading standards while proposing reforms to align the plausibility standard with constitutional and procedural fairness principles.

Summary Of State V. Lucero, 127 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 7, Brian Blaylock

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

An appeal of the Second Judicial District Court’s denial of the State’s motion to correct a reduced sentence imposed upon revocation of probation.

Statement Of David E. Aaronson In Support Of Hb 1075 To Repeal The Death Penalty, David E. Aaronson

Legislative Testimony & Comments

No abstract provided.

Summary Of Lamb V. State, 127 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 3, Erin Elliot

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Appeal from a judgment of conviction by a criminal defendant convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

New Jersey V. T.L.O.: School Searches And The Applicability Of The Exclusionary Rule In Juvenile Delinquency And Criminal Proceedings, Bryan Stoddard

Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Proper Crime Recording As An Effective Feedback Tool In Articulating A Crime Policy, Kevin A. Unter

Georgia Journal of Public Policy

Crime policy is subject to the policy process just like other governmental policies.  An effective crime policy is one that reduces the amount of crime in a police department’s jurisdiction, e.g., the city.  Accordingly, crime policy consists of the same policy components – agenda setting, formulation, implementation, and feedback.  The implementation of any crime policy depends on the information collected by police departments, often through crimes reported to the department via 9-1-1 calls or brought to a police officer’s attention through proactive police work.  The success of that police work relative to the reported crime first depends on whether the …

How United States V. Jones Can Restore Our Faith In The Fourth Amendment, Erica Goldberg

Michigan Law Review First Impressions

United States v. Jones, issued in January of this year, is a landmark case that has the potential to restore a property-based interpretation of the Fourth Amendment to prominence. In 1967, the Supreme Court abandoned its previous Fourth Amendment framework, which had viewed the prohibition on unreasonable searches in light of property and trespass laws, and replaced it with a rule protecting the public’s reasonable expectations of privacy. Although the Court may have intended this reasonable expectations test to provide more protection than a test rooted in property law, the new test in fact made the Justices’ subjective views about …

Guns, Crime Control, And A Systemic Approach To Federal Sentencing, David E. Patton

Cardozo Law Review

Recent scholarship about the role of sentencing reform in reducing high levels of incarceration has focused on evidence-based, offender-specific solutions, such as how to better assess offenders' risk of recidivism and their amenability to diversionary programs. This Article proposes a new, systemic approach. In particular, it suggests that in cases where the primary rationale for steep sentences is crime reduction, as opposed to retributive notions of harm and blameworthiness, judges ought to engage in an evidence-based examination of how the government is making "use" of the sentences it seeks in its law enforcement efforts. And where the government's efforts fall …

In Defense Of Noncapital Habeas: A Response To Hoffmann And King, John H. Blume, Sheri Lynn Johnson, Keir M. Weyble

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

For decades, federal habeas corpus review of state court judgments has generated wide-ranging, sometimes heated, debate among judges, policymakers, and scholars. In their 2009 Essay, Rethinking the Federal Role in State Criminal Justice, Professors Joseph L. Hoffmann and Nancy J. King added their voices to the exchange, contending that federal habeas corpus review of noncapital state court convictions and sentences should, with narrow exceptions, be abolished. They contend that the expenditure of money, time, and effort necessary to provide review in such cases is no longer justifiable and that those resources should be redirected to creating a federal initiative for …

Initial Research On The Malfunctions Of The Criminal Process, Chen Ruihua, Timothy Webster

Washington International Law Journal

In recent years, as China’s legislature has placed the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Law on its legislative plan, more and more legal scholars are paying attention to the problem. Legal academics have produced a series of theses and books, and qualified scholars have even organized experts’ drafts of the Criminal Procedure Law, offering comprehensive and systematic theoretical works on how to revise the law. I participated in scholarly activities organized by the Criminal Affairs Committee of the All China Lawyers Federation, and drafted the first lawyers’ edition of the revised Criminal Procedure Law. Thus, the next revision of the …

Such Visible Fiction: The Expansion Of Scott V. Harris To Prisoner Eighth Amendment Excessive Force Claims, Nina Frank

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

And Death Shall Have No Dominion: How To Achieve The Categorical Exemption Of Mentally Retarded Defendants From Execution, J. Amy Dillard

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Modifying The Restrictions On Sentence Modification: United States V. Cobb, Jackie Bosshardt

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.