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Articles 1 - 14 of 14
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Silencing And Surveillance: The Struggle Of Same-Sex Desire In The Shadow Of The 20th-Century Police State, Ethan Dunn
Silencing And Surveillance: The Struggle Of Same-Sex Desire In The Shadow Of The 20th-Century Police State, Ethan Dunn
Honors Theses
This paper investigates the intersection of social perceptions of vice and gender norms in shaping the policing of sexual orientation and sexuality during the turn of the twentieth century. Employing a legal analysis rooted in the law and society movement and critical legal studies, this study examines how social anxieties surrounding vice and vice crimes prompted swift legislative measures at both federal and state levels, resulting in statutes characterized by broad language that granted extensive discretion to law enforcement officials and judges. The emergence of morals and vice police squads further intensified the targeting of individuals who deviated from prevailing …
With Liberty And Justice For The Wealthy: The Criminalization Of The American Poor, Ashlyn Dickmeyer
With Liberty And Justice For The Wealthy: The Criminalization Of The American Poor, Ashlyn Dickmeyer
Honors Theses
The last phrase of the Pledge of Allegiance states “with liberty and justice for all”. However, not everyone has access to this liberty and justice. Liberty and justice can be bought in this country for a price, and those who can’t afford to pay it are often left in the hands of those who can. One of the most prominent ways to see this is by analyzing the criminal justice system. Despite clauses in the Fourteenth Amendment and court cases like Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) establishing and upholding that the poor are entitled to equal treatment within the criminal justice …
Justice In The American Legal System: Challenges To The Confrontation Clause In Criminal Child Sexual Abuse Cases, Kelsey Savoy
Justice In The American Legal System: Challenges To The Confrontation Clause In Criminal Child Sexual Abuse Cases, Kelsey Savoy
Honors Theses
The following thesis will look at the original intent of the Founders when the Sixth Amendment was written. It will then examine the challenges presented to justice both substantively and procedurally in cases of criminal child sexual abuse specifically, including the challenges faced by victims forced to testify during trial long after the trial is over. After establishing these challenges, this thesis will then examine legal precedent set by the courts that illustrates how exceptions have been made to traditional courtroom procedures over time, such as exceptions to the hearsay rule and in-person testimony on the witness stand, to allow …
A Comparative Analysis Of Statutory Remedies For Wrongful Convictions In The Fifty States, Abigail St. John
A Comparative Analysis Of Statutory Remedies For Wrongful Convictions In The Fifty States, Abigail St. John
Honors Theses
Thousands of individuals have been wrongfully convicted across the United States. When an exoneration occurs, an individual’s conviction is absolved, and their innocence is proved through newly discovered evidence. While it might be impossible to protect from the errors of the criminal justice system, it is in the hands of the state to compensate the wrongly convicted. There is an abundance of research that focuses on reforming the existing wrongful conviction compensation legislation, but there is a lack of scholarly data that explains the motivations behind this compensation. Moreover, few researchers have considered the role of partisanship and political parties …
On The Intersections Of Childhood Maltreatment, Self-Control, And Behavioral Outcomes Across The Life-Course, Ameleigh Bippen
On The Intersections Of Childhood Maltreatment, Self-Control, And Behavioral Outcomes Across The Life-Course, Ameleigh Bippen
Honors Theses
Childhood abuse and neglect are highly deleterious experiences that a number of children continue to encounter. The purpose of the current discussion is to examine the impact of childhood abuse and neglect on the growth and development of self-control in early childhood. In service of this goal, several methods were employed, including a review of the historical and current research on the development of self-control. In addition to this, specific scientific theories and their advancements were analyzed to provide further insight into the connection between poor impulse regulation (and decision-making) and downstream linkages with criminal offending. Perhaps not surprisingly, evidence …
Hbo’S "The Wire" And Its Portrayal Of Baltimore Politics, Schools, And The Judicial System In Season 4: Was It Accurate Then And Does It Stand The Test Of Time?, Josephine Klingeman
Hbo’S "The Wire" And Its Portrayal Of Baltimore Politics, Schools, And The Judicial System In Season 4: Was It Accurate Then And Does It Stand The Test Of Time?, Josephine Klingeman
Honors Theses
This thesis is a content analysis of HBO’s fourth season of The Wire. After conducting an in-depth analysis of the content in the thirteen episodes of season four, I then assessed the level of accuracy in the show’s portrayal of two major topics discussed throughout the season: Witness protection and police informant harassment. I did so by conducting several interviews with professionals who have several decades of experience working in the criminal justice system. I compared their personal experience with witness protection programs, witness harassment, and police informant harassment with the content presented in The Wire on these topics. …
Race And Social Class As Factors Associated With Sentence Disparities: A Survey Of Potential Jurors, Amanda Rickett
Race And Social Class As Factors Associated With Sentence Disparities: A Survey Of Potential Jurors, Amanda Rickett
Honors Theses
Prior research has found that bias, along with other extralegal factors, leads to the sentencing disparities in the criminal justice system throughout the United States. The criminal justice system has implemented reforms to address these disparities. Furthering research on this issue, I analyze previous studies that tried to determine the effects of bias on the decisions made by judges and juries. Most importantly, the present study aimed to determine the effects of race and socioeconomic class of the defendant on the decisions on potential jurors using a vignette based survey with randomized assignment. The results suggest that the potential jurors’ …
Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: Analyzing Inhumane Practices In Mississippi’S Correctional Institutions Due To Overcrowding, Understaffing, And Diminished Funding, Ariel A. Williams
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 …
Analyses Of Prosecutorial Power And Discretion In Mississippi: Evaluating Proposals To Address Misconduct And Abuse, Lucy Pruitt
Analyses Of Prosecutorial Power And Discretion In Mississippi: Evaluating Proposals To Address Misconduct And Abuse, Lucy Pruitt
Honors Theses
This thesis seeks to create a policy proposal in order to address incidences of prosecutorial misconduct and abuse of discretion in the Mississippi criminal justice system. To do so, the author has summarized and analyzed seven criminal cases in which defendants have become victims of prosecutorial misconduct in order to shed light on the lack of prosecutorial accountability in the state’s criminal justice system. In an attempt to solve the problem, the author has developed a novel grading rubric in order to objectively and systematically analyze and evaluate previously proposed policy recommendations by legal experts and justice organizations. The successes …
How Gun Control Laws Affect Homicide, Abbey Maloney
How Gun Control Laws Affect Homicide, Abbey Maloney
Honors Theses
Homicide is an ever-prevalent problem in the United States (U.S.). One solution that is often turned to is the implementation of stricter gun control laws. This causes much divide as many citizens are not in agreement about whether or not these laws do what they are intended to. The aim of this study was to determine whether or not gun control laws have an effect on homicide, and, if so, what this effect is. The U.S. states were evaluated in several different categories to determine how strict or lax their gun laws were. They were scored using the number of …
Impact Of High Profile Police Use Of Force Incidents On Violent Crime Rates, Megan Galante
Impact Of High Profile Police Use Of Force Incidents On Violent Crime Rates, Megan Galante
Honors Theses
This research study examined the relationship between high-profile police use of force incidents and local violent crime rates. It is important to analyze the impact that police use of force has on the respective community in regard to crime rates. This study analyzed three incidents of police use of force that have received extensive coverage in the media in order to determine if there was a change in the rates of violent crime in that city. The theory of de-policing suggests that in the aftermath of a high-profile incident of police brutality, police departments in the area change their behaviors …
Mandatory Minimum Penalties: An Analysis Of Four State’S Penal Codes And Federal Court Policies, Cassie Geiken
Mandatory Minimum Penalties: An Analysis Of Four State’S Penal Codes And Federal Court Policies, Cassie Geiken
Honors Theses
In Nebraska, variations of bills attempting to amend mandatory minimum laws in the state have been introduced. The harshness of the mandatory sentences, as well as the looming state of emergency caused by prison overcrowding, have sustained the debate over sentencing laws. This essay identifies the core issues of mandatory minimum sentencing laws and analyzes the states of Nebraska, Texas, Alabama, California, and the federal system’s use of mandatory minimums for felony charges to identify potential solutions. Statute review found that Nebraska’s current sentencing codes are misaligned with the rest of the nation; not even Alabama with one of the …
An Interdisciplinary Approach To Domestic Violence In The Legal System: The Importance Of Victim Advocates, Joanna Chalifoux
An Interdisciplinary Approach To Domestic Violence In The Legal System: The Importance Of Victim Advocates, Joanna Chalifoux
Honors Theses
Domestic violence is an aspect of the legal system where there typically is a lack of communication among the institutions involved. Therefore, the benefit of an interdisciplinary approach to domestic violence in the legal system is assessed by emphasizing the importance of the presence of victim advocates in the courtroom. In this dissertation, the issue will be evaluated through a feminist point of view— with the belief that domestic violence is a gendered phenomenon in which the majority of the perpetrators are male and the victims are female. In order to research this, several judges, lawyers, and victim advocates who …
Public Opinion And Regional Differences In Death Penalty Policies, Alicia Blecich
Public Opinion And Regional Differences In Death Penalty Policies, Alicia Blecich
Honors Theses
Despite the 1976 affirmation by the Supreme Court that the death penalty does not violate the Constitution, some states have moved away from this practice due to a variety of reasons to the point that there appears to be regional differences in policy on this issue. The objective of this study is to determine which factors influence public opinion on capital punishment and how they account for the regional discrepancies in policy. I identify a number of demographic factors that have been found to influence this opinion on a national scale, for reexamination at the regional level. Six states are …