Legal Profession Commons^™

Good Prosecutor And Good Person? The Conflict Of Humanness And The Prosecutorial Field, Zaiya Dillon

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Prosecutorial Misconduct, Overreach, And Misuse Of Discretion On Gender Violence Victims, Leigh Goodmark

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Prosecutors are failing victims of gender violence as witnesses and when they become defendants in cases related to their own victimization. But it is questionable whether that behavior should be labeled misconduct. The vast majority of these behaviors range from misuses of discretion to things that some might consider best practices in handling gender violence cases. Nonetheless, prosecutors not only fail to use their discretion appropriately in gender violence cases, but they take affirmative action that does tremendous harm in the name of saving victims and protecting the public. The destructive interactions prosecutors have with victims of gender violence are …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Second-Best Criminal Case, William Ortman

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Sharkfests And Databases: Crowdsourcing Plea Bargains, Kay L. Levine, Ronald F. Wright, Nancy J. King, Marc L. Miller

Faculty Articles

In this Essay, we dive deeper into this final dimension to discuss the influence of professional networks on plea negotiations. In particular, we examine the effects of crowdsourcing tactics in the negotiation setting. We describe, for example, what happens when lawyers bargain in public, benefitting from an audience that provides information about past practices and deals. And then we speculate about what might happen if that audience were instead a widely shared database that documents plea practices in the jurisdiction. We offer a few preliminary thoughts about the potential influence of such techniques, as we are not in a position …

Virtual Hearings And Blockchain Technology Solutions In Criminal Law, Chantell Bergquist

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Technology has evolved and raided our personal and professional lives. Although the courts are not immune to the advancement and integration of technology, the courts are not keeping up with relevant technological advancements. Historically, courts have been hesitant to embrace new technologies despite the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Rule 1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure creates the right to a “just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding.” Likewise, the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct have determined attorneys must “keep abreast of …

2018 Camp Courthouse Colloquy, United States Court Of Appeals For The Second Circuit: The Art Of Mediating Intractable Disputes, George J. Mitchell

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

In 1974, the Civil Appeals Mediation Program ("CAMP") was established in the Second Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals as a pioneering initiative. CAMP is an integral part of the court's appellate process and provides mediation in suitable, counseled civil appeals that are eligible under Local Rule 33.1. In 2017, CAMP inaugurated the Courthouse Mediation Colloquy series to gather members of the judiciary, members of the bar, mediators, academics, and students in an informal, educational setting. The Colloquy features a distinguished guest engaging in a conversation with a representative of the court about aspects of mediation that are …

Democratic Policing Before The Due Process Revolution, Sarah Seo

Faculty Scholarship

According to prevailing interpretations of the Warren Court’s Due Process Revolution, the Supreme Court constitutionalized criminal procedure to constrain the discretion of individual officers. These narratives, however, fail to account for the Court’s decisions during that revolutionary period that enabled discretionary policing. Instead of beginning with the Warren Court, this Essay looks to the legal culture before the Due Process Revolution to provide a more coherent synthesis of the Court’s criminal procedure decisions. It reconstructs that culture by analyzing the prominent criminal law scholar Jerome Hall’s public lectures, Police and Law in a Democratic Society, which he delivered in 1952 …

Long Term Effects Of Involvement In The Criminal Justice System: Mitigating Collateral Consequences & Tackling Voter Disenfranchisement, Symposium Session 1, Wesley Caines, Lucy Cutolo, Kendea Johnson

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The symposium examines the long-term effects of involvement in the criminal justice system, focusing on collateral consequences and voter disenfranchisement. It emphasizes the need for both prosecutors and defense attorneys to address these consequences early in criminal cases, as they significantly impact individuals' lives beyond direct legal penalties. The discussion highlights the importance of holistic approaches to mitigate these effects and advocates for systemic changes to reduce disparities and support successful reintegration into society.

Law School News: National Criminal Defense College To Hold Trial Practice Institute At Rwu School Of Law 11/15/2018, Edward Fitzpatrick

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Visibly (Un)Just: The Optics Of Grand Jury Secrecy And Police Violence, Nicole Smith Futrell

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Police violence has become more visible to the public through racial justice activism and social justice advocates’ use of technology. Yet, the heightened visibility of policing has had limited impact on transparency and accountability in the legal process, particularly when a grand jury is empaneled to determine whether to issue an indictment in a case of police violence. When a grand jury decides not to indict, the requirement of grand jury secrecy prevents public disclosure of the testimony, witnesses, and evidence presented to the grand jury. Grand jury secrecy leaves those who have seen and experienced the act of police …

Georgia State Law Review Symposium Keynote Address: Uncovering Forensic Flaws - An Outside Perspective, Spencer S. Hsu

Georgia State University Law Review

This transcript is a reproduction of the Keynote Address by Spencer Hsu at the 2017–2018 Georgia State University Law Review Symposium — From the Crime Scene to the Court room: The Future of Forensic Science Reform — on April 6, 2018.

Spencer Hsu is an investigative reporter at the Washington Post, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, and a national Emmy Award nominee.

The Established Continuing Duty, David M. Siegel, Tigran W. Eldred

Faculty Scholarship

This brief article traces the development of a new standard of practice for lawyers handling criminal cases: an obligation to assist their former clients, through affirmatively disclosing to subsequent counsel and protecting from disclosure to prosecutors, any information that may assist the former client in attacking his prior conviction – including attacking the work of his prior lawyer. This continuing duty, most recently and expansively recognized in the American Bar Association’s Standards for the Defense Function (4th Ed. 2016), reflects increased understanding of the importance of ensuring effective assistance of counsel, acknowledged in recent state and federal court decisions, opinions …

Cook's Field Guide To Prosecution In Georgia, Alan A. Cook

Books

In this practical guidebook former district attorney and director of the University of Georgia's School of Law Prosecutorial Justice Program Alan Cook shares his personal wisdom and advice gathered from his decades of experience into a single volume. The handbook includes introductions to each chapter topic, plus both quick and detailed reference sections on all aspects of criminal law and procedure. It also includes useful appendices with step-by-step practice guides for how to perform specific prosecutorial tasks (such as how to take a guilty plea). Law student testimonies from now seasoned attorneys at the start of the book indicate the …

A Status Update For Texas Voir Dire: Advocating For Pre-Trial Internet Investigation Of Prospective Jurors, Luke A. Harle

St. Mary's Law Journal

The Internet provides trial attorneys an additional tool to investigate the backgrounds of prospective jurors during voir dire. Online searches of a person’s name and social media accounts can reveal information that could be used as grounds for a challenge for cause or to facilitate intelligent use of peremptory strikes. Texas lawmakers have not yet provided any official guidance as to whether attorneys can investigate prospective jurors online or how they might do so, should it be allowed. Texas’s current voir dire structure, judicial opinions, and ethics opinions, together, support the notion that Texas trial attorneys should be given opportunities …

Rhode Island's Top Lawyer: Peter Kilmartin, Rwu Class Of 1998 5-2018, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Litigation Academy Helps Lawyers Hone Skills 4-30-2018, Katie Mulvaney, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Basic Trial Advocacy, Michael W. Mullane

Maine Law Review

Mary Crates taught me to “begin as you mean to go on.” Peter Murray's book is a good place to begin for those embarking on a life of trial advocacy. For those of us whose beginnings are distant and often painful memories, it is an excellent reminder of where we meant to go. Trial advocacy is an infinitely complex task. This simple fact is both its joy and curse. Teaching trial advocacy is equally difficult. There is no “never” and no “always.” There is a host of commonly accepted maxims, many of which are contradictory on their face and all …

Pro Se Appellants: Opportunities For Law Libraries, Liz Reppe

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

This article is part of the 2018 Dickinson Law Review Symposium entitled “Access to Justice: Innovations and Challenges in Providing Assistance to Pro Se Litigants.” The author is the state law librarian for Minnesota who reports to the Minnesota Supreme Court. This article surveys various resources that Minnesota provides to unrepresented clients, including the website resources found here: https://perma.cc/R2DP-K9YB. The bulk of the article, however, focuses on Minnesota’s innovative in-person “Appeals Self-Help Clinics.” See https://perma.cc/Y2VN-H2L3.

The article’s discussion of Minnesota’s Appeals Self-Help Clinics begins by highlighting some of the factors that provided the impetus for the development …

“Pfa” Record Expungement As A Tool For Settlement: Due Process And The Pennsylvania Protection From Abuse Act, Kyle Semroc

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

The Pennsylvania Protection from Abuse Act (PFAA) empowers victims of domestic violence to obtain protection orders through a hearing process. Once the Protection from Abuse (PFA) process is initiated, a statewide registry system automatically generates a civil record. Currently, no statutory language governing the expungement of a PFA record exists in Pennsylvania, and courts have decided that a right to expungement exists only in limited circumstances. The courts are silent, however, on whether a protection order by consent of the parties with no admission of abuse is available for expungement.

This Comment begins by describing the procedure by which a …

Public Defense Litigation: An Overview, Lauren Sudeall Lucas

Faculty Publications By Year

No abstract provided.

A Penal Colony For Bad Lawyers, Bennett L. Gershman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In this article I set out what I believe is an extreme and unconventional way to discipline egregiously bad lawyers. For starters, I think it might be useful to survey briefly the kinds of lawyering conduct currently subject to disciplinary sanctions. Regulation of the conduct of defense lawyers in the U.S. is hedged by various legal and professional rules that are enforced by courts and disciplinary bodies essentially to ensure a minimum level of competent and ethical representation. The Sixth Amendment right to counsel--the so-called “sacred” right--seeks to ensure at least a reasonable degree of lawyering skill. Also, professional codes …

It’S All Your Fault!: Examining The Defendant’S Use Of Ineffective Assistance Of Counsel As A Means Of Getting A “Second Bite At The Apple.”, Prentice L. White

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

The United States Constitution provides individuals convicted of a crime with “a second bite at the apple.” The Sixth Amendment provides an avenue to appeal one’s conviction based on the claim of “ineffective assistance of counsel.” What were the Framers’ true intentions in using the phrase “effective assistance of counsel”? How does the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) of 1996 affect habeas corpus appeals? This article answers these questions through the eyes of Thomas—a fictional character who is appealing his murder conviction.

This article first looks at the history surrounding effective assistance of counsel and discusses the difficulties …

Big Law, Public Defender-Style: Aggregating Resources To Ensure Uniform Quality Of Representation, M. Eve Hanan

Scholarly Works

Stories abound of public defenders who, overwhelmed with high caseloads, allow defendants to languish in pre-trial detention and guilty pleas to be entered without examining the merits of the case. Most defendants cannot afford to hire an attorney, and, thus, have no choice other than to accept the public counsel appointed by the court. In this Essay, I consider whether Professor Benjamin Edwards' central argument in The Professional Prospectus: A Call for Effective Professional Disclosure '-that attorneys should provide potential clients with a prospectus disclosing their performance history-applies to criminal defense. I reject the proposition that most people charged with …

2017 Survey Of Rhode Island Law: Cases And Public Laws Of Note

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Necessity Of The Good Person Prosecutor, Jessica A. Roth

Articles

In a 2001 essay, Professor Abbe Smith asked the question whether a good person—i.e., a person who is committed to social justice—can be a good prosecutor. Although she acknowledged some hope that the answer to her question could be “yes,” Professor Smith concluded that the answer then was “no”—in part because she saw individual prosecutors generally as having very little discretion to “temper the harsh reality of the criminal justice system.” In this Online Symposium revisiting Professor Smith’s question seventeen years later, my answer to her question is “yes”—a good person can be a good prosecutor.

Volume 4 Issue 2 (Complete Spring 2017), David J.. Cook, Zachary Bolitho, Evan Wright, George Steven Swan, Cynthia Brown

Lincoln Memorial University Law Review Archive

A complete version of LMU Law Review Volume Issue 2 for Spring 2017.

Conviction Integrity Units Revisited, Barry Scheck

Articles

“Conviction Integrity Unit” has become a brand name that has good public relations value for an elected official. But what does it really mean? Is it just a fashion accessory, a flashy but empty appellation intended to convey the idea that the office is extremely serious about correcting wrongful convictions and holding its own members accountable for errors or acts of misconduct, but really is not? Is conviction integrity nothing more than a passing fad, a nebulous slogan without real meaning that is good for propaganda purposes, but will not bring about any serious change in the way business is …

Newsroom: Nbc News: Coombs On Chelsea Manning 01-13-2017, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

A Legal And Ethical Puzzle: Defense Counsel As Quasi Witness, Elizabeth Slater

Fordham Law Review

The U.S. criminal justice system is built on the concept of an adversarial trial. The defense and prosecution present competing narratives to a neutral audience that judges whether the prosecution has proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. In this context, defense counsel is expected to be a zealous advocate for the defendant, providing the most effective representation possible in light of the evidence presented by the government. However, there are occasions outside of trial where defense counsel’s traditional role changes and she is asked to disclose, not to the jury, but to the court, personal opinions and knowledge about …