Law and Society Commons^™

Not All Violence In Relationships Is “Domestic Violence", Tamara L. Kuennen

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The article proceeds in four parts. Part I describes in more detail the work of Donileen Loseke, and Part II applies her methodology by taking stock of the constructs as they currently exist. Part III examines social science data available since Loseke published her study, demonstrating that the current construct reflects, in reality, only a subset of relationship violence and a subset of the people who experience it. Part IV examines whether the main service designed to help people experiencing relationship violence today—law—perpetuates, rather than challenges norms. I argue that it does the former, because legal decision makers, like the …

Pandemic, Protests, And Prison Reform? Why 2020 Is A Catalyst To Rethink Drug Policy, Keelia Lee

St. Thomas Law Review

This Article will argue for the abandonment of the current criminal justice system as it relates to drug offenses and for its replacement with a medical model to address the healthcare problem of addiction. The medical model approach calls for complete decriminalization of all controlled substances coupled with better rehabilitation and reintegration policies. This Article argues the criminalization of drugs has targeted minorities under the guise of keeping communities safe. It will look at the differences between the United States and Portugal, a country that has implemented the medical model, while also analyzing recent legislation in the United States addressing …

Recalibrating Suspicion In An Era Of Hazy Legality, Deborah Ahrens

Seattle University Law Review

After a century of employing varying levels of prohibition enforced by criminal law, the United States has entered an era where individual states are rethinking marijuana policy, and the majority of states have in some way decided to make cannabis legally available. This symposium Article will offer a description of what has happened in the past few years, as well as ideas for how jurisdictions can use the changing legal status of cannabis to reshape criminal procedure more broadly. This Article will recommend that law enforcement no longer be permitted use the smell of marijuana as a reason to search …

The Sativas And Indicas Of Proof: Why The Smell Of Marijuana Should Not Establish Probable Cause For A Warrantless Vehicle Search In Illinois, 53 Uic J. Marshall L. Rev. 187 (2020), Cece White

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Judicial Elections, Public Opinion, And Their Impact On State Criminal Justice Policy, Travis N. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

This dissertation explores whether and how the re-election prospects faced by trial court judges in many American states influence criminal justice policy, specifically, state levels of incarceration, as well as the disparity in rates of incarceration for Whites and Blacks. Do states where trial court judges must worry about facing reelection tend to encourage judicial behavior that results in higher incarceration rates? And are levels of incarceration and racial disparities in the states influenced by the proportion of the state publics who want more punitive policies? These are clearly important questions because they speak directly to several normative and empirical …

Replacing Death With Life? The Rise Of Lwop In The Context Of Abolitionist Campaigns In The United States, Michelle Miao

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

On the basis of fifty-four elite interviews[1] with legislators, judges, attorneys, and civil society advocates as well as a state-by-state data survey, this Article examines the complex linkage between the two major penal trends in American society during the past decades: a declining use of capital punishment across the United States and a growing population of prisoners serving “life without the possibility of parole” or “LWOP” sentences. The main contribution of the research is threefold. First, the research proposes to redefine the boundary between life and death in relation to penal discourses regarding the death penalty and LWOP. LWOP …

Marijuana Law Reform In 2020 And Beyond: Where We Are And Where We’Re Going, Sam Kamin

Seattle University Law Review

With another presidential election now looming on the horizon, both political parties and both sides of the marijuana law reform debate are once again preparing for the possibility of a seismic change in how marijuana is regulated in the United States. In this Article, I lay out the state of marijuana law and policy in the United States today with an eye toward that uncertain future. I describe the differential treatment of marijuana under state and federal law and the tensions this causes for those seeking to take advantage of marijuana law reform in the states. I analyze recent changes …

A Commitment To The Whole Athlete: Embracing The Role Of Cannabinoids In Collegiate Athletics, Kelli Rodriguez Currie

Seattle University Law Review

Cannabinoids can be a highly effective way for athletes to combat various kinds of pain associated with intense training. Derivatives of cannabis, such as marijuana, have been used for centuries as a form of pain relief. Part I of this Article discusses how cannabinoids are used in sports medicine. Part II discusses the different approaches to marijuana and cannabidiol use across sports leagues. Part III highlights the inconsistencies between the NCAA’s approach to testing for substance abuse and its investment in student-athletes’ well-being. Part IV discusses how the NCAA must focus on student-athlete health. Finally, Part V concludes that the …

In Memory Of Professor James E. Bond, Janet Ainsworth

Seattle University Law Review

Janet Ainsworth, Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law: In Memory of Professor James E. Bond.

"Inciting A Riot": Silent Sentinels, Group Protests, And Prisoners' Petition And Associational Rights, Nicole B. Godfrey

Seattle University Law Review

This Article argues for increased legal protections for prisoners who choose to engage in group protest to shed light on the conditions of their incarceration. A companion piece to a similar article that focused on prisoner free speech rights, this Article uses the acts of protest utilized by the Silent Sentinels to examine why prisoners’ rights to petition and association should be strengthened. By strengthening these rights, the Article argues that we will advance the values enshrined by the First Amendment’s Petition Clause while simultaneously advancing the rights of the incarcerated millions with little to no political power.

The Article …

Does The Woman Suffrage Amendment Protect The Voting Rights Of Men?, Steve Kolbert

Seattle University Law Review

This Article—part of the Seattle University Law Review’s symposium on the centennial of the ratification of the Woman Suffrage Amendment—examines that open possibility. Concluding that the Nineteenth Amendment does protect men’s voting rights, this Article explores why and how that protection empowers Congress to address felon disenfranchisement and military voting. This Article also examines the advantages of using Nineteenth Amendment enforcement legislation compared to legislation enacted under other constitutional provisions.

Part I discusses the unique barriers to voting faced by voters with criminal convictions (Section I.A) and voters in the armed forces (Section I.B). This Part also explains how existing …

The Internet Never Forgets: A Federal Solution To The Dissemination Of Nonconsensual Pornography, Alexis Santiago

Seattle University Law Review

As technology evolves, new outlets for interpersonal conflict and crime evolve with it. The law is notorious for its inability to keep pace with this evolution. This Comment focuses on one area that the law urgently needs to regulate—the dissemination of “revenge porn,” otherwise known as nonconsensual pornography. Currently, no federal law exists in the U.S. that criminalizes the dissemination of nonconsensual pornography. Most U.S. states have criminalized the offense, but with vastly different degrees of severity, resulting in legal inconsistencies and jurisdictional conflicts. This Comment proposes a federal solution to the dissemination of nonconsensual pornography that carefully balances the …

State V. Thomas: An Improper Extension Of Involuntary Manslaughter To Combat The Opioid Epidemic, Daniel P. Mooney

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Stepping Into The Shoes Of The Department Of Justice: The Unusual, Necessary, And Hopeful Path The Illinois Attorney General Took To Require Police Reform In Chicago, Lisa Madigan, Cara Hendrickson, Karyn L. Bass Ehler

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

No abstract provided.

The Dichotomy Between Overcriminalization And Underregulation, Ellen S. Podgor

American University Law Review

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) failed to properly investigate Bernard Madoff’s multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme for over ten years. Many individuals and charities suffered devastating financial consequences from this criminal conduct, and when eventually charged and convicted, Madoff received a sentence of 150 years in prison. Improper regulatory oversight was also faulted in the investigation following the Deepwater Horizon tragedy. Employees of the company lost their lives, and individuals were charged with criminal offenses. These are just two of the many examples of agency failures to properly enforce and provide regulatory oversight, with eventual criminal prosecutions resulting from the …

Rewarding Bad Behavior In Initial-Review Collateral Proceedings: Teague Says Yes, Due Process Says No, Bethany Callahan

American University Law Review

For centuries, criminal defendants have had the opportunity to challenge their convictions with a writ of habeas corpus. The Founding Fathers described the writ as a path to liberation for those imprisoned without sufficient cause. It is a critical safeguard of individual freedom against lawless state action in criminal proceedings. However, with every safeguard comes a loophole.

The finality of state court decisions is revered in the American criminal justice system. It is no surprise, then, that the Supreme Court has approached the issue of whether to retroactively apply new laws to cases already finalized on direct review with trepidation. …

How The Race Of A Neighborhood Criminalizes The Citizens Living Within: A Focus On The Supreme Court And The "High Crime Neighborhood", Deandre' Augustus

St. Thomas Law Review

My whole life I was taught that all men are not created equal. This was beaten into my brain by my loving mother who just wanted me to be safe. You see, this message was part of what most young Black men hear when given “the talk.” I remember multiple variations of the talk given to me throughout my early childhood. However, a variation of the talk was most vividly remembered while taking our dog for a walk around my neighborhood with my mother. At the time, we lived in a suburban area, in a predominantly White neighborhood of Baton …

Boots And Bail On The Ground: Assessing The Implementation Of Misdemeanor Bail Reforms In Georgia, Andrea Woods, Sandra G. Mayson, Lauren Sudeall, Guthrie Armstrong, Anthony Potts

Faculty Publications By Year

This Article presents a mixed-methods study of misdemeanor bail practice across Georgia in the wake of reform. We observed bail hearings and interviewed system actors in a representative sample of fifty-five counties to assess the extent to which pretrial practice conforms to legal standards clarified in Senate Bill 407 and Walker v. Calhoun. We also analyzed jail population data published by county jails and by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. We found that a handful of counties have made promising headway in adhering to law and best practices, but that the majority have some distance to go. Most …

Families Belong Together: The Path To Family Sanctity In Public Housing, Mckayla Stokes

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

In its 2015 landmark civil rights decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court finally held that the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the United States Constitution guarantee same-sex couples’ marital equality. The Court’s unprecedented declaration that the right to marry is a fundamental right under the Due Process Clause strengthened married couples’ right to privacy because it subjects government actions infringing on marital unions to heightened scrutiny. The Supreme Court has the option to minimize the impact of Obergefell by interpreting the right to marriage very narrowly—as only encompassing the right to enter into a state-recognized union …

Covid-19 In Canadian Prisons: Policy, Practice And Concerns, Adelina Iftene

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Correctional Service of Canada and the provincial prison systems have a duty to provide incarcerated individuals with health services that are comparable to those in the community, but they have failed to do so during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are inherent practical difficulties to implementing health care in prisons. In addition, prison demographics include a higher proportion of populations that are vulnerable to disease. These factors together mean that the prison response to COVID-19 must involve depopulation and the implementation of guidelines provided by public health agencies in all institutions. So far, the measures taken have been insufficient, as is …

Foreword, Syndie G. E. Molina

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Our Criminal Justice System Is A Bear Trap, Frederick K. Brewington

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Confession Obsession: How To Protect Minors In Interrogations, Cindy Chau

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Pretrial Detention In A Criminal System Looking For Justice, Gabrielle Costa

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Remorse, Not Race: Essence Of Parole Release?, Lovashni Khalikaprasad

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

As Pertains To The Criminal Justice System, Is Hindsight 20/20?, Syndie G. E. Molina, Cristina Negrillo

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

The Inconvenience Of Justice: How Unmitigated Official Misconduct Almost Destroyed The Lives Of Five Young Boys From Harlem, Stefania Bordone, David Wright

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

The Methodology Of Social Adaptation Following The Liberation Of A Wrongful Conviction, Ashantwa Jackman

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

The Opioid Crisis As Health Crisis, Not Criminal Crisis: Implications For The Criminal Justice System, Haley Hrymak

Dalhousie Law Journal

The criminal justice system’s response to the opioid crisis exacerbates risks faced by people using drugs and is harmful to public health. Interviews with 11 interviewees including defence counsel, probation officers, and public interest lawyers and advocates revealed three key challenges of working in the criminal justice system during the opioid crisis. First, there is a lack of understanding of addiction within the criminal justice system. Second, as a result of the opioid crisis, fentanyl trafficking sentencing decisions in British Columbia emphasize the need for lengthier prison sentences, which disproportionately affects people who use substances. Third, the conditions on bail …

The Dangers Of Disclosure: How Hiv Laws Harm Domestic Violence Survivors, Courtney Cross

Scholarly Works

People living with HIV or AIDS must decide whether, how, and when to disclose their positive status. State laws play an outsized role in this highly personal calculus. Partner notification laws require that current and former sexual partners of individuals newly diagnosed with HIV be informed of their potential exposure to the disease. Meanwhile, people who fail to disclose their positive status prior to engaging in sexual acts-even acts that carry low to no risk of infection-can be prosecuted and incarcerated for exposing their partners to HIV. Although both partner notification laws and criminal HIV exposure laws were ostensibly created …