Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons^™

Resolving The Anders Dilemmas: How & Why Texas Should Abandon The Anders Procedure, Michael J. Ritter

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

When an indigent defendant has a right to counsel for an appeal, and counsel believes the appeal is wholly frivolous, Texas has adopted the Anders v. California procedure that permits counsel to withdraw from representation and argue to the appellate court why their client’s appeal is wholly frivolous. This Article argues that, either by a change to the disciplinary rules or by judicial decision, Texas should abandon the Anders procedure as other states have. Doing so will promote the integrity of the right to counsel, avoid numerous conflicts and dilemmas created by the Anders procedure, and advance judicial efficiency and …

The War On Drugs And Its Legal Effects On Black Americans, Alexia L. Howard-Mullins

2022 Symposium

The differences in treatment between Black and white Americans in the past fifty years has been a topic of thought in the minds of political and sociological scholars since the inception of the War on Drugs in 1971. These differences in treatment may lead to discrimination legally, resulting in longer prison sentences and a higher proportion of Black Americans in prison. This study analyzes the results of the War on Drugs that led to disproportionate imprisonment of Black Americans, including mandatory sentencing laws, drug classifications, and discrimination within law enforcement and the legal system. This study will use primary sources …

The Impact Of Intimate Partner Violence On Women's Financial Wellbeing, Rowan Dunton

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Domestic violence and intimate partner violence against women affects all aspects of their health, including physical, mental, emotional, and economic health. When social programs, support networks, and better opportunities exist to improve the lives of female survivors, the financial impact of their abuse can be addressed and reduced in a significant, sustainable manner. Reviewing existing literature on this financial impact of abuse makes it apparent what women want and need to recover from their former, or even ongoing, situations. Effective preventative measures against financial harm include closing the gender wage gap and offering welfare programs for lower-income women to increase …

From The Legal Literature: America’S Paper Prisons: The Second Chance Gap, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Cannibalizing The Constitution: On Terrorism, The Second Amendment, And The Threat To Civil Liberties, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This article explores the links between internet radicalization, access to weapons, and the current threat from terrorists who have been radicalized online. The prevalence of domestic terrorism, domestic hate groups, and online incitement and radicalization have led to considerable focus on the tension between counterterror efforts and the First Amendment. Many scholars recommend rethinking the extent of First Amendment protection, as well as Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment protections, and some judges appear to be listening. Yet the Second Amendment has avoided this consideration, despite the fact that easy access to weapons is a necessary ingredient for the level of …

From The Legal Literature: Trafficking And The Shallow State, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Pain That Only She Must Bear: On The Invisibility Of Women In Judicial Abortion Rhetoric, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The graphic and bodily facts of a legal question of rights are relevant to the courts, particularly in questions that directly implicate physical bodies and pain, such as right to die cases, or what level of search may be allowable and when. However, in the case of abortion, or more specifically the bodily ramifications of pregnancy and childbirth, this detail is conspicuously absent. This article, relying on a content analysis of over 220 legal opinions on abortion rights, documents this absence of rhetoric. Particularly in the context of other discussions of pain and physical health risks in these very same …

From The Legal Literature: Environmental Victimization And Criminal Enforcement: Assessing Evidence From Thirty-Seven Years Of Epa Case Summary Reports, Marshall R. Schmidt, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

From The Legal Literature: Arrest Records, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

From The Legal Literature: Undemocratic Crimes, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Personality Assessment Inventory Predictors Of Parole For Adults Who Committed Murder As Juveniles, Karlie Rice

Psychology Theses

Previously juveniles as young as 14 guilty of murder were eligible to be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. However, the decision of Miller v. Alabama (2012) declared mandatory life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) unconstitutional. Juveniles sentenced to LWOP were now able to be either resentenced or eligible for possible parole. The current study examined which scales on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) predict parole outcomes for adult men seeking parole who committed murder when they were juveniles and sentenced to LWOP. The PAI is a 344-item self-report assessment comprised of validity, clinical, interpersonal and treatment …

Human Trafficking Of People With A Disability: An Analysis Of State And Federal Cases, Andrea Nichols, Erin Heil

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The current academic discourse examining human trafficking is lacking in focus on survivors with a disability. The increased likelihood of abuse experienced by people with a disability is well documented in the research literature, and a small body of research indicates heightened sex trafficking victimization of minor girls with a disability. Yet, very little research specifically examines sex and/or labor trafficking of people with a disability, and no systematic research analyzes prosecuted cases of trafficking with disability as the focal point of analysis. Drawing from a content analysis of 18 federal and 17 state cases of human trafficking, the current …

Sorority Women’S Perceptions Of Survivors’ Services And Justice On An Urban Campus, Andrea Giuffre, Elaine Gunnison

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

While researchers have attempted to estimate the prevalence of and identify risk factors for sexual assault, less is understood about the relationship among populations at high risk for sexual assault and their perceptions of survivors’ services organizations and justice. The purpose of this investigation is to contribute to existing research through exploratory qualitative analyses of 43 undergraduate sorority women’s perceptions of survivors’ services and justice on a large, urban campus in the Pacific Northwest in the United States. Results of these exploratory analyses revealed that the sorority women had preferences for informal confidants and services whom they could trust concerning …

Creating A Home Base For Treatment In Homeless Courts, Kyle C. Troeger

Student Publications

As the number of unsheltered homeless increases, an alternative to criminalization, homeless courts, have also become more common. 18 States currently have one or more specialty court programs dedicated to meting out alternative sentencing to the local homeless. Homeless courts are a rehabilitative process with the end goal of reintegration into society. They allow nonviolent misdemeanors to be resolved without jail time or fines. In lieu of traditional sentencing is community service and mandated self-improvement. This chapter examines the current criminalization, and history, of homelessness in the United States. Of primary interest is the development of homeless courts as an …

The Victims’ Voices: A Routine Activity Approach To Jail And Prison Victimization, Victor St. John

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The study explores the occurrence of victimization while incarcerated in American jails and prisons. Consistent with the Routine Activity Approach – which explains that victimization occurs due to the convergence of a suitable target and a motivated offender in time and space, and the absence of a capable guardian, handler, and place manager –, this study investigates the applicability of the approach within the correctional setting, namely the influence of place management, access to informal guardians, and the victims’ perception of correctional officers’ capability on preventing victimization (the formal guardian). A mixed methods design was employed, analyzing 87 semi-structured interviews …

The Value And Scope Of The Term Femicide, Robert Brannon

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The term femicide is useful in naming a wide range of sexist killings of women by men, just as “genocide” and “sexual harassment” named these respective other crimes and civil violations. Definitions and example of killings that are, and are not, femicides clarify the scope of the term. A number and variety of misogynistic killings of women can be documented. There is evidence that learning of the term of femicide has helped women to see and to combat femicides in their spheres. The term femicide has been embraced by the United Nations and by eight Latin American countries to date.

Why Does An Ex-Offender Reoffend?, Jacob Rybak

Symposium of Student Scholars

What leads to an offender to go back to prison? Iowa has collected data tracking recidivism to evaluate the effectiveness of its programs for released offenders. This data set includes the following for all of the offenders: age groups, type of release (parole vs being discharged at the end of their sentence), race, sex, year of release, supervising district, original offense, and whether they recidivated. For the offenders who return to prison, the data set includes measures on days to return, type of recidivism (technicality or new crime), and what the specific offense was that caused their return.

In the …

Evaluating The 2019 New York State Bail Reform On Quality Of Life Offenses In New York City, Nodira Pirmukhamedova

Student Theses

Using the NYPD Complaint Data, this study compares the frequency of nine quality of life (QOL) misdemeanor complaints (n = 196,577) in New York City (NYC) before (n = 108,382) and after the 2019 NYS Bail Reform Act (n = 88,195), which eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanor crimes. The results show an overall decrease (18.6%) in nine QOL misdemeanor complaints in NYC after bail reform with a large effect (d = 1.317). The main limitation of this study is that it did not control for the impact of COVID-19 in 2020 on the criminal justice system’s shifting priorities. Another …

The Truth(S) Behind “True Crime”: Examining The Role Of Narrative In The Retellings Of The Rafay Family Murders, Samantha L. Richard

FIMS Major Projects and Creative Projects

In April of 1995, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) launched their second ever “Mr. Big” operation: one that involves an intricate interrogation technique designed to elicit a confession from suspected criminals in cases where physical evidence cannot link the accused to the crime. The targets of this operation were suspected murderers Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafay. The highly publicized case was discussed extensively through traditional news coverage, as well as in various stories of the true crime genre. Through the use of narrative theory, this paper examines the role of narrative in the retelling of the Rafay family murders. …

Compilation Of Mentoring Programs In San Diego And Imperial Counties, Nohelia Ramos, Caitlyn Lauchner, Andrew Blum

Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

This document compiles information on mentoring programs in San Diego and Imperial Counties. The goal is to provide a clear picture what mentoring programs are being implemented and to give basic information about those programs as of June 2021.

The purpose of the document is three-fold. First, as a deliverable under the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative (PSN), it is designed to provide basic information to the US Attorney’s Office and others involved in the PSN on the range of mentoring programs that exist. Mentoring programs have proven to be an effective program strategy for producing a range of positive youth …

Marriage Or License To Rape? A Socio-Legal Analysis Of Marital Rape In India, Vidhik Kumar

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Rape exposes the failure of society’s institutions which were established to provide better security to an individual in a society. These institutions sometimes not only failed to protect an individual from such grave assaults on their autonomy and privacy, but also sanctioned them by either providing them legitimacy by law or not illegitimating them. States often have either provided legal sanctity to rapes within marriage or have refrained from declaring it a crime, on account of it being a private sphere not open to interference. Rape within marriage or marital rape is a global problem, and it is argued that …

Victim Impact: The Manson Murders And The Rise Of The Victims’ Rights Movement, Merrill W. Steeg

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

First Amendment Knowledge And Competence In United States Residents, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Kimberly M. Bernstein

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Lacking adequate knowledge about one's rights could inhibit the likelihood of exercising one's rights or lead one to unwittingly violate laws that place legitimate limits on these rights. Thus, the present research examines First Amendment knowledge as well as competence to apply this knowledge in relevant circumstances. Results revealed that one-quarter of participants failed a test of objective knowledge on First Amendment rights. Furthermore, participants' belief in their ability varied depending on their level of knowledge, in line with the Dunning–Kruger effect. Participants also failed to transfer their limited objective knowledge to “real-world” situations, exhibiting impaired First Amendment competence. These …

Police Homicide: Race And Ethnicity, Christine Henderson, Aimee Quinn, Charles E. Reasons, Veronica Salas, John Vinson, Brittney Warf

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

During the pandemic, routines were interrupted lives were changed and during this time, many individuals spent more time watching the news to learn more about how long it would take to resume normalcy. When George Floyd was murdered by four police officers, time stood still and the world watched. Outrage was immediate. The pandemic offered everyone the opportunity to witness tragedy unfold in front of them a brutality which happens every day, yet is easily ignored. This article examines the incidence of police homicides of people of color, the lack of law enforcement to seek solutions to their own internal …

Treatment Access For Dual Diagnosis Substance Use And Mental Health Disorders, Pedro Banuelos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In 2018, of 1.3 million Latinx adults in the United States facing concurrent issues with substance use disorders (SUD) and mental health disorders (MHD) 93% remained untreated for either diagnosis. This is concerning since Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) data reveals that this population is at greater risk for suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts. They also face structural barriers such as employment, housing, legal involvement, and insurability that further impede access to treatment.

This study’s purpose was to examine barriers to accessing treatment for Latinx populations confronting co-occurring SUDs and MHDs. This study used a qualitative design …

Death-By-Incarceration In Illinois, Joseph Dole

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

No abstract provided.

The Martin Institute: Prints, Spring 2021, Stonehill College: The Martin Institute For Law And Society

The Martin Institute: Prints

No abstract provided.

Criminal Mental Health, Tabitha Oliver

Senior Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to assess and address the prevalence of mental health issues among incarcerated individuals in America. There are multiple internal and external contributing factors to the disproportionately high numbers of mentally ill inmates. Comparing the United States prison system with other countries such as Norway allows for possible paths to improving the mental health crisis that we are currently experiencing. This thesis looks at the principles and practices used in Norway's prisons as well as how they affect inmate's mental health. By comparing Norway's prison policies and design, this thesis will suggest changes in staff …

The “Innocence Penalty”: Is It More Pronounced For Juveniles?, Nilam A. Sanghvi, Elizabeth A. Delosa

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Despite the presumption of innocence, we know that individuals accused of crimes are punished for maintaining their innocence in ways both tangible and intangible as they make their way through our criminal justice system. For example, even if instructed not to, jurors may infer guilt from a defendant’s failure to testify; defendants who exercise their right to go to trial receive lengthier sentences if convicted than those who plead guilty; and, once convicted, defendants who maintain their innocence are often denied opportunities for parole or clemency. This article explores whether these “innocence penalties” are even greater for children who are …

Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti, The Death Penalty, And War, John Sniegocki

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.