Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons^™

Neurorights For Incarcerated Persons: Should We Curb Inflation?, Shannon Fyfe, Elizabeth Lanphier, Andrew Peterson

Scholarly Articles

We support protecting privacy and freedom, both generally and in carceral settings. Yet we remain skeptical that expanding so-called “neurorights” achieves these aims (cf. Bublitz 2022). Instead, it may inflate human rights in ways that diminish the ability to enforce them, overlook the ways in which incarceration is at odds with other human rights, and raise questions of whether neurotechnologies can violate such rights in the ways Ligthart et al. imply.

Review: Wendy A. Bach, Prosecuting Poverty, Criminalizing Care, Anna Arons

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

“Lock ’em up, clean ’em up, and start over” (145). This is how a drug treatment coordinator in a court in East Tennessee sums up her approach to provisioning substance use services to poor Tennesseans. If someone needs treatment, the most expeditious route—often, the only route—is through the criminal legal system. First, the court administrator casts about for a criminal charge, hopefully a “little charge,” that the person can be arrested on. Then, once they are arrested, they can be brought to jail where they can detox, with no medical supervision and no medication to ease the detox. And …

Jail Health And Early Release Practices, Brandon L. Garrett, Deniz Ariturk, Jessica Carda-Auten, David L. Rosen

Faculty Scholarship

Local jails in the United States incarcerate millions of people each year. The COVID-19 pandemic made jail health a pressing public health concern nationally, where releasing individuals from jails occurred across the country in order to prevent pandemic spread. But releases also faced substantial resistance and exposed long-standing challenges in delivering adequate healthcare in jail settings. People in jail have substantially higher levels of medical need than individuals in the general population, with large numbers having serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders. Further, overcrowded conditions and poor healthcare standards and delivery make jails harmful to those already-vulnerable people. What …

Viral Injustice, Brandon L. Garrett, Lee Kovarsky

Faculty Scholarship

The COVID-19 pandemic blighted all aspects of American life, but people in jails, prisons, and other detention sites experienced singular harm and neglect. Housing vulnerable detainee populations with elevated medical needs, these facilities were ticking time bombs. They were overcrowded, underfunded, unsanitary, insufficiently ventilated, and failed to meet even minimum health-and-safety standards. Every unit of national and sub-national government failed to prevent detainee communities from becoming pandemic epicenters, and judges were no exception.

This Article takes a comprehensive look at the decisional law growing out of COVID-19 detainee litigation and situates the judicial response as part of a comprehensive institutional …

"Defunding" The Criminality Of Mental Illness By Funding Specialized Police Training: How Additional Training And Resources For Dealing With Mental Health Will Be Beneficial For All Sides, Margaret Ahern

Journal of Law and Health

The momentous public outcry for police reform is the result of police encounters ending fatally, which is notably sixteen times more likely for individuals suffering from mental illness in the United States. These horrific incidents highlight the systemic failings of traditional police departments training and its failure to provide officers with the necessary skills to de-escalate crisis situations involving the vastly overrepresented mentally ill population involved in the United States justice system. This article demonstrates that effective police training involving crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques equip police officers with knowledge and skills that enable them to contrive more positive outcomes …

Creating Cautionary Tales: Institutional, Judicial, And Societal Indifference To The Lives Of Incarcerated Individuals, Nicole B. Godfrey

Arkansas Law Review

It has long been said that a society’s worth can be judged by taking stock of its prisons. That is all the truer in this pandemic, where inmates everywhere have been rendered vulnerable and often powerless to protect themselves from harm. May we hope that our country’s facilities serve as models rather than cautionary tales. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, issued the above-quoted clarion call to protect the lives of incarcerated people on May 14, 2020. At that point, the COVID-19 pandemic had brought American society to a standstill for a little more than two months, …

Barred By Their Brains: Inmates With Traumatic Brain Injury (Tbi), Claire Mikita

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: Analyzing Inhumane Practices In Mississippi’S Correctional Institutions Due To Overcrowding, Understaffing, And Diminished Funding, Ariel A. Williams

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to examine the political, social, and economic factors which have led to inhumane conditions in Mississippi’s correctional facilities. Several methods were employed, including a comparison of the historical and current methods of funding, staffing, and rehabilitating prisoners based on literature reviews. State-sponsored reports from various departments and the legislature were analyzed to provide insight into budgetary restrictions and political will to allocate funds. Statistical surveys and data were reviewed to determine how overcrowding and understaffing negatively affect administrative capacity and prisoners’ mental and physical well-being. Ultimately, it may be concluded that Mississippi has high …

The Reincorporation Of Prisoners Into The Body Politic: Eliminating The Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy, Mira K. Edmonds

Articles

Incarcerated people are excluded from Medicaid coverage due to a provision in the Social Security Act Amendments of 1965 known as the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy (“MIEP”). This Article argues for the elimination of the MIEP as an anachronistic remnant of an earlier era prior to the massive growth of the U.S. incarcerated population and the expansion of Medicaid eligibility under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. It explores three reasons for eliminating the MIEP. First, the inclusion of incarcerated populations in Medicaid coverage would signify the final erasure from the Medicaid regime of the istinction between …

The Increased Exposure To Coronavirus (Covid-19) For Prisoners Justifies Early Release: And The Wider Implications Of This For Sentencing—Reducing Most Prison Terms Due To The Harsh Incidental Consequences Of Prison, Mirko Bagaric, Peter Isham, Jennifer Svilar

Pepperdine Law Review

The risk of coronavirus (COVID-19) spreading in prisons is especially acute. This has resulted in an unprecedented number of prisoners being released across the world – including many prisoners in the United States. From the health, social, and political perspectives, this is a sound approach. This is especially the situation in relation to older prisoners and those who have not been imprisoned for serious sexual and violent offenses. Despite the large number of prisoners that are being released, the United States will still have the largest prison population on earth—and by a large margin. However, the coronavirus pandemic and the …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

When We Breathe: Re-Envisioning Safety And Justice In A Post-Floyd Era, Aya Gruber

Publications

10th Annual David H. Bodiker Lecture on Criminal Justice delivered on Wed., Oct. 21, 2020 at Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

A Model For Defunding: An Evidence-Based Statute For Behavioral Health Crisis Response, Taleed El-Sabawi, Jennifer J. Carroll

Faculty Publications

Too many Black persons and other persons of color are dying at the hands of law enforcement, leading many to call for the defunding of police. These deaths were directly caused by excessive use of force by police officers, but were also driven by upstream and institutional factors that include structural racism, institutional bias, and a historic culture of racialized violence. Public outcry against racial inequities has increased as the authority of police departments has expanded to include not only the authority to respond to and investigate criminal activity, but also to respond to calls regarding behavioral health issues and …

Sane, Manipulative Self-Harm: When Hostage And Hostage Taker Become One, John R. Fitzgerald

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Decriminalizing Prostitution: Embracing The Swedish Model By Removing The Mistake-Of-Age Defense From New York’S Stop Violence In The Sex Trade Act, Carley Cooke

Journal of Law and Policy

In recent years, New York has re-focused on the widely debated topic of how to best manage and regulate prostitution in the United States. As a state-level issue, the debate presents an invaluable opportunity to re-examine how New York as a society views sex work. The answer in New York focuses on the idea that sex work is real work, where workers should be able to carry out their profession without stigma or fear of arrest. As it stands, the proposed reform largely focuses on decriminalizing both the purchase and sale of sex. This approach contrasts with the legal structure …

Public Policy Origins Of U.S. Data, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Provides detailed introduction and overview of public policy origins of U.S. data. Shows how congressional legislation and Office of Management and Budget documents influence compilation and dissemination of U.S. Government data. Stresses how Indiana General Assembly requirements influence compilation of Indiana state agency data and Indiana local government agency data. Places emphasis on roles played in data compilation and dissemination by public policy research institutions/think tanks. Concludes by stressing limitations of data collection by governmental and non-governmental entities.

Habeas Corpus, Conditions Of Confinement, And Covid-19, Allison Wexler Weiss

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

Incarcerated individuals, worried about contracting the disease in prison without adequate healthcare and often serious health risks, have filed lawsuits challenging their incarceration in the age of COVID-19. Overall, very few have been successful. This virus has changed our world and the reality for those in prison. The traditional legal avenues available to incarcerated individuals to challenge their continued confinement are often ill-equipped to allow for comprehensive and expedited review. The author argues that during these unprecedented times, courts should recognize that the “duty to defend the Constitution” requires them to grant motions for habeas corpus by the most vulnerable …

Dirty Johns: Prosecuting Prostituted Women In Pennsylvania And The Need For Reform, Mckay Lewis

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Prostitution is as old as human civilization itself. Throughout history, public attitudes toward prostituted women have varied greatly. But adverse consequences of the practice—usually imposed by men purchasing sexual services—have continuously been present. Prostituted women have regularly been subject to violence, discrimination, and indifference from their clients, the general public, and even law enforcement and judicial officers.

Jurisdictions can choose to adopt one of three general approaches to prostitution regulation: (1) criminalization; (2) legalization/ decriminalization; or (3) a hybrid approach known as the Nordic Model. Criminalization regimes are regularly associated with disparate treatment between prostituted women and their clients, high …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Criminal Law In Crisis, Benjamin Levin

University of Colorado Law Review Forum

In this Essay, I offer a brief account of how the COVID-19 pandemic lays bare the realities and structural flaws of the carceral state. I provide two primary examples or illustrations, but they are not meant to serve as an exhaustive list. Rather, by highlighting these issues, problems, or (perhaps) features, I mean to suggest that this moment of crisis should serve not just as an opportunity to marshal resources to address the pandemic, but also as a chance to address the harsh realities of the U.S. criminal system. Further, my claim isn’t that criminal law is in some way …

Law Enforcement Welfare Checks And The Community Caretaking Exception To The Fourth Amendment Warrant Requirement, Andrea L. Steffan

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

No abstract provided.

Covid-19 Provincially Incarcerated Individuals - A Policy Report, Adelina Iftene

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This document is the result of an investigation into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on provincially incarcerated individuals and the Nova Scotia government’s responses relating to its prison population. It was supported by the Nova Scotia COVID-19 Health Research Coalition. In this memorandum, we describe the results of the investigation and propose solutions to better prepare for the second wave of COVID-19 or an alike pandemic situation.

Emergency Parole Release For Older Parole-Eligible Doc Inmates, David I. Bruck

Scholarly Articles

Professor Bruck writes to Secretary Moran and Chairwoman Bennett to urge them to protect elderly Virginia prison inmates from the risk of death from COVID-19 by granting immediate parole release to as many over-60 parole-eligible prisoners as possible, upon a showing that they are at low risk to re-offend, and have a supportive home to go to once released.

Law School News: Rwu Law Professors Win Release For Two Immigrants At Risk For Covid-19 04-24-2020, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

State Prosecutors At The Center Of Mass Imprisonment And Criminal Justice Reform, Nora V. Demleitner

Scholarly Articles

State prosecutors around the country have played a crucial role in mass imprisonment. Little supervision and virtually unsurpassed decision making power have provided them with unrivaled influence over the size, growth, and composition of our criminal justice system. They decide which cases to prosecute, whether to divert a case, whether to offer a plea, and what sentence to recommend. Their impact does not stop at sentencing. They weigh in on alternative dockets, supervision violations, parole release, and even clemency requests. But they are also part of a larger system that constrains them. Funding, judicial limits on their power, and legislative …

Safe Consumption Sites And The Perverse Dynamics Of Federalism In The Aftermath Of The War On Drugs, Deborah Ahrens

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

In this Article, I explore the complicated regulatory and federalism issues posed by creating safe consumption sites for drug users—an effort which would regulate drugs through use of a public health paradigm. This Article details the difficulties that localities pursuing such sites and other non-criminal-law responses have faced as a result of both federal and state interference. It contrasts those difficulties with the carte blanche local and state officials typically receive from federal regulators when creatively adopting new punitive policies to combat drugs. In so doing, this Article identifies systemic asymmetries of federalism that threaten drug policy reform. While traditional …

Recognizing The Need For Mental Health Reform In The Texas Department Of Criminal Justice, Kara Mchorse

St. Mary's Law Journal

The ways in which mental health care and the criminal justice system interact are in desperate need of reform in Texas. The rate of mental illness in Texas is higher than the current state of mental health care can provide for. While state hospitals were once the primary care facilities of those with mental illness, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has taken on that role in the last few decades; and when the criminal justice system becomes entangled with mental health care, it often leads to “unmitigated disaster.” If Texas continues to allow the TDCJ to act as …

Healers Or Dealers: The Effect Of Doctors Committing Health Care Fraud On The Opioid Epidemic, Peri Novick

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The note argues that doctors who commit healthcare fraud by improperly prescribing opioids for personal gain should be held criminally liable for patient deaths resulting from their actions. It emphasizes that these physicians, often operating as "pill mills," violate ethical and legal standards, contributing significantly to the opioid epidemic. The analysis advocates for stronger legal enforcement and accountability to address this issue effectively.

Hepatitis C: There's A Cure, But Who Will Bail Out The Department Of Corrections?, Monica K. Houston

Health Law and Policy Brief

No abstract provided.

Amending The Ryan Haight Act: Elevating Telemedicine Law To New Heights, Dillon Vaughn

Texas A&M Law Review

The Ryan Haight Act has established excessive restrictions on controlled substance prescribing through telemedicine by first requiring an in-person exam. If the Act is not amended, many individuals in need of medication will go without proper medical care. While other agencies and states have made moves to expand telehealth, the DEA has dragged its feet on making any significant changes. This Comment argues that the federal government should amend the Ryan Haight Act, allowing telemedicine providers to prescribe controlled substances without an in-person exam. This amendment would focus on the standard of care while requiring stringent documentation by physicians who …