Legal Theory Commons^™

Nickie D. Phillips & Staci Strobl, Comic Book Crime: Truth, Justice, And The American Way, Jordan E. Mazurek

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"In what can be described as an ethnographic content analysis of (super) heroic proportions, Nickie D. Phillips and Staci Strobl’s Comic Book Crime: Truth, Justice, and the American Way provides an in-depth exploration of crime and justice discourses presented in the medium of the comic book in the first decade of the 2000s. The authors employ years of in-depth participant observation in the comic book subculture along with group interviews to inform their analysis of the story arcs in two hundred popular comic book series, along with a number of graphic novels, in the post-9/11 American context. Drawing on a …

S.F. Sharp, Mean Lives, Mean Laws: Oklahoma’S Women Prisoners, Kerri Bellamy

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Using a feminist strain approach, Susan Sharp’s Mean Lives, Mean Laws: Oklahoma’s Women Prisoners, investigates the impact of incarceration on women in the Oklahoma prison system and their families. Oklahoma incarcerates women at a rate of 135 per 100,000, the highest in the nation. The book examines this high incarceration rate by investigating factors such as childhood abuse and neglect which may continue into adulthood and that contribute to women’s imprisonment. Sharp makes it clear that once in prison there are few avenues for the women to obtain education and healthcare or to maintain relationships with family on the …

Sutherland, Edwin H., The Professional Thief, Jurg Gerber

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Perhaps because he was the son of a minister and raised in a very traditional home (Geis & Meier, 1977, p.24), Edwin Sutherland (1883-1950) had a populist streak and is known for two major contributions to American criminology: the theory of differential association (DA) and the concept of white collar crime (WCC). His classic book entitled The Professional Thief is at the intersection of these two interests, although its influence has been more acknowledged with respect to DA than WCC. This review traces scholarly reactions to the book and its enduring contributions to American criminology."

Alice Goffman, On The Run: Fugitive Life In An American City, Dzhamilia Makashova

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Alice Goffman’s On the Run is an ethnographic study of the impacts of the war on drugs and policing in an American urban neighborhood. Her research started during her sophomore year at the University of Pennsylvania in Dr. David Grazian’s urban ethnography class. As a part of the class, Goffman’s assignment was to pick a site to observe and take notes, and she got a job at a cafeteria at the west edge of Penn’s campus with Miss Deena, a Black woman in her sixties who managed the staff. Through this job, Goffman was introduced to Miss Deena’s family and …

Functionally Suspect: Reconceptualizing "Race" As A Suspect Classification, Lauren Sudeall Lucas

Faculty Publications By Year

In the context of equal protection doctrine, race has become untethered from the criteria underlying its demarcation as a classification warranting heightened scrutiny. As a result, it is no longer an effective vehicle for challenging the existing social and political order; instead, its primary purpose under current doctrine is to signal the presence of an impermissible basis for differential treatment.

This Symposium Article suggests that, to more effectively serve its underlying normative goals, equal protection should prohibit not discrimination based on race per se, but government actions that implicate the concerns leading to race’s designation as a suspect classification. For …

Inspiring Public Trust In The Domestic Legal System: The Impact Of The Extraordinary Chambers In The Courts Of Cambodia (Eccc), Jung Min Shin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

The Responsibility To Protect: Emerging Norm Or Failed Doctrine?, Camila Pupparo

Global Tides

This paper seeks to investigate the current shift from the non-intervention norm towards the “Responsibility to Protect,” commonly abbreviated as “RtoP,” which actually mandates intervention in cases of humanitarian intervention disasters. I will look at the May 2011 application of the R2P doctrine to the humanitarian crisis in Libya and assess whether it was a success or a failure. Many critics of the “Responsibility to Protect” norm consider it to be yet another imperial tool used by the West to pursue national interests, so this paper analyzes this argument in detail, referring to case study examples, particularly in the Middle …

Copyrights And Creativity: The Affects Of Copyrights On Fairy Tales, Dina Arouri

Honors Program Theses

This work attempts to argue for a correlative relationship between copyright law and the evolution of literary works. It uses the laws and common practices of intellectual property to achieve this hypothesis.

The Making Of A Libertarian, Contrarian, Nonobservant, But Self-Identified Jew, Randy E. Barnett

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Many academics are unaware that I am Jewish, no doubt due, in part, to my last name as well as to my politics, Yet growing up as a Jew in Polish-Catholic Calumet City, Illinois and as a kid from Calumet City attending Temple in Hammond, Indiana made me quite conscious of the tyranny of the majority. This environment, together with the influence of my father, had a deep affect on my views of liberty, justice, individual rights, and the U.S. Constitution. In this brief essay, prepared for a symposium on “Judaism and Constitutional Law: People of the Book,” held at …

Three Globalizations: An Essay In Inquiry, John Henry Schlegel

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Why Feminism Matters To The Study Of Law, Kim Brooks

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Queen’s Law Faculty is home to Feminist Legal Studies Queen’s, a research group that expands awareness and development of scholarship in feminist legal studies, enables the development of feminist legal scholars at Queen's, and fosters connections among feminists with an interest in law. In Fall 2014, I had the privilege of returning to Queen’s Law to give the first seminar in FLSQ’s 2014-2015 lecture series. I was tasked with providing some reflections on why feminist legal theory matters. What follows is the text from the talk.

What Color Is The Number Seven? Category Mistakes Analysis And The "Legislative/Non-Legislative" Distinction, John Martinez

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Essay: Philemon, Marbury, And The Passive-Aggressive Assertion Of Legal Authority, Paul J. Larkin Jr.

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Gate Keeping And The Politics Of Access To Prisons: Implications For Qualitative Prison Research, Janani Umamaheswar

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"In this article, I draw on and contribute to existing literature on reflexivity and access in qualitative research, specifically in the context of prison research. I do this through a critical discussion of the research process involved in conducting a study on women prisoners in the U.S. In addition to describing the obstacles I faced in gaining access to a research site in which to conduct the study, I also discuss the implications of gate keeping for knowledge produced about women prisoners. Finally, I build on Bosworth et al.’s (2005) discussion of prison research using communication by mail. I argue …

Sarah Wilson, The Origins Of Modern Financial Crime: Historical Foundations And Current Problems In Britain, Aneta Spaic, Claire Angelique Nolasco

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"This book traces the roots of financial crime to the Victorian Era roughly between the years 1840-1880. Wilson situates financial crime within the context of the concerns, perceptions, developments, and issues endemic to that period. She attempts to draw the reader to the realities of this particular Victorian era as it was unfolding and explains how financial misconduct within commerce became rampant as construction of the railways spurred the growth of industrialization. The book contributes to existing literature on financial crime by providing a historical analysis of its etymology and creating awareness of its historical origins and prevalence long before …

Legalizing Recreational Marijuana: Comparing Ballot Outcomes In Four States, Kenneth Leon, Ronald Weitzer

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Medical marijuana is now available in 23 states, and its growing acceptance has paved the way for the legalization of recreational marijuana. This article examines four recent campaigns to legalize recreational marijuana–two failures and two successes. Using data from newspaper sources, interviews with key players, and other sources, we examine the factors that influence whether a ballot initiative succeeds or fails. We identify similarities and differences between the four measures, the social forces shaping the debate, their claims and counterclaims, and a set of factors that appear to increase the odds that a recreational marijuana ballot measure will be successful."

An Examination Of The Researcher Guard Role: Bringing Prison Fieldwork Into The 21st Century, Scott Chenault

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"In 1986, James Marquart published a seminal article on qualitative methodology in Justice Quarterly. In that piece he presented the strengths and weaknesses associated with the researcher guard role he used while conducting a prison ethnography in Texas. His method led to data that is still central to our understanding of prison culture. However, in the past 30 years, correctional philosophy and practice have undergone significant shifts in the United States. Despite these shifts, there has been a dramatic decrease in prison ethnography during the same time period. This article presents a modern adaptation of Marquart’s method, based on a …

Editorial, Willard M. Oliver

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Welcome to the second issue of volume two of the Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice & Criminology. Rather than closing with acknowledgments, I would like to start this editorial introduction with them. First and foremost, I would like to thank both the editorial board members and the reviewers for this volume of the journal. Their names are listed at the beginning of this issue for without them, this journal would not be possible. Still further, if it was not for the hard work and dedication of my book review editor, Kevin Steinmetz, who recently accepted an academic appointment at …

Bradley Garrett: Explore Everything: Place-Hacking The City, Kevin F. Steinmetz

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"While most people seem content to enjoy the front-stages of everyday life– going to safe spaces deemed appropriate for occupation–there are those who are enthralled by the backstage spaces of contemporary urban landscapes. In Explore Everything: Place-Hacking the City, Bradley Garrett details his research into urban explorers, a subculture that delves into the hidden (or hidden in plain sight) city spaces such as abandoned urban ruins, underground tunnels, and imposing skyscrapers. To date, this work is most likely the definitive study of urban exploration (sometimes referred to as UE) and should be the starting point for anyone from student …

Contreras, Randol, The Stickup Kids: Race, Drugs, Violence, And The American Dream, Robert J. Durán

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Most academics do not live in segregated black or Latino communities that contain higher rates of violence and incarceration. Historically, ethnographers have attempted to bridge this gap, but only a small number of these researchers match the populations they are studying in terms of age, class, ethnicity, and gender. An even rarer ethnographer comes from these same neighborhoods and shares lifelong friendships with the participants. Randol Contreras’s Stickup Kids provides an in-your-face portrayal of a drug dealing crew turned drug robbers in the South Bronx of New York City during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Due to structural changes …

Holloway, Pippa, Living In Infamy: Felony Disfranchisement And The History Of American Citizenship, Gregory J. Fremin

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"In a historical account of the origins of felony disfranchisement in America, Pippa Holloway details how race and regional politics formed the basis for the exclusion of African Americans on the right to vote. Holloway’s Living in Infamy attempts to connect the dots from the past to the present by educating the reader on how America came to utilize felony convictions as a societal class preservation tool to exclude African Americans from voting. Holloway delves deeply into ancient Roman and Greek law and continues through Anglo-European law and ideology to set the stage for how our forefathers in early America …

Nigel South & Avi Brisman (Eds.), Routledge Handbook Of Green Criminology, Gary R. Potter

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"The first articulation of a ‘green’ criminology – that is, a criminology concerned with man-made environmental harm – is usually attributed to Michael Lynch (1990) in his essay The Greening of Criminology: a perspective on the 1990s. Although not the first criminological work on environmental harm, Lynch was one of the first to argue that environmental problems in themselves, and the social harms that so often stem from them, can be seen to be legitimate criminological concerns – and that criminologists, therefore, may be well positioned to contribute to analysis and discussion of the environmental degradation that has become …

Exploring The Roles Of Redemption, Agency, And Motivation In Two Groups Of High-Risk Felony Probationers, Steve Boehm

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Problem-solving courts were developed in the 1980s and 1990s to reduce recidivism and probation revocations. The first problem- solving courts focused primarily on treating drug abuse, but the missions have expanded to include issues such as domestic violence and the problems faced by returning war veterans. Research has found these courts to be generally effective, but there is wide variation in their outcomes, and there are questions about the perceptions of problem-solving court participants compared to other probationers. This study presents qualitative analysis of interview data for a group of problem-solving court probationers (n = 19) and a similar group …

Bill Chambliss, On The Take: From Petty Crooks To Presidents, Gary W. Potter

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"On the Take: From Petty Crooks to Presidents (first published in 1978) was the product of seven years (1962-1969) of observational research in Seattle, Washington (Chambliss, 1988). Chambliss used his background in law and sociology to interpret the things he saw and the stories he heard on Seattle’s skid row. He gained entrée into Seattle’s underworld by posing as an itinerant truck driver. Outfitted in old, worn shirts, khaki slacks and with bearded stubble on his face, he interacted with the bottom echelon of Seattle’s crime entrepreneurs–bar owners, illegal card room and bingo operators, street-level drug dealers and prostitutes. …

Incarceration And Reintegration: How It Impacts Mental Health, April M. Marier, Alex Alfredo Reyes

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Background: Previous criminal justice policies have been non-effective leading to overpopulated prisons and unsuccessful reintegration. There is a lack of effective supportive and/or rehabilitative services resulting in high rates of recidivism and mental health implications. Objective: This study investigated the perceived impact that incarceration and reintegration with little to no supportive and/or rehabilitative services has on the mental health status of an individual. The emphasis was on participant perception and not on professional reports because of underreporting and lack of attention to mental health in the criminal justice system. Methods: Focus groups in the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley …

Can Retributivism Be Saved?, Chad Flanders

BYU Law Review

Retributive theory has long held pride of place among theories of criminal punishment in both philosophy and in law. It has seemed, at various times, either much more intuitive, or rationally persuasive, or simply more normatively right than other theories. But retributive theory is limited, both in theory and practice, and in many of its versions is best conceived not as a theory of punishment in its own right, but instead as shorthand for a set of constraints on the exercise of punishment. Whether some version of retributive theory is a live possibility in the contemporary world remains very much …

Indeterminacy, Value Pluralism, And Tragic Cases, David Wolitz

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

In It For The Long Haul: Exploring Gender Dynamics In Former Prisoner– Family Relationships, Damian J. Martinez, Andrea Leverentz

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"This article contributes to the growing body of literature on the role of families of origin in the reentry of former prisoners by focusing on a group of young men of color recently released from prison. Our in-depth interviews with young men and selected family members highlighted the ongoing importance of their family relationships for providing important emotional and instrumental support. These relationships also are gendered. In relationships with female relatives, the former prisoners’ primary role was to be there for the women in the family and thereby demonstrate their love of family and their commitment to desistance from crime, …

Kenneth D. Tunnell, Once Upon A Place: The Fading Of Community In Rural Kentucky, Travis Linnemann

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"It is difficult to think of the rural apart from rolling hills and green fields that offer a respite from the city’s disquiet. Along with images of a bucolic rurality however, is a darker anti-idyll that has loomed in the social imaginary for centuries. While the narrative is timeless, the rural’s decline is something few among us have lived or even cared to witness first-hand. However, in the pages of Kenneth D. Tunnell’s Once Upon a Place, we travel to the disregarded landscapes of rural Kentucky and witness the history of its struggles. Like looking out the window of …

Expressing Strain: A Qualitative Evaluation Of The Testimonies Of Female Sex Offenders, Jennifer L. Klein, Danielle Tolson, Cathy Collins

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"For those convicted of a sexual offense, life on the registry is not an easy one. There is a great deal of stigma associated with these offenders despite the fact they served their sentences and were released back into society. Current research examines what life is like for female sex offenders whose information is listed on the Florida Sex Offender Registry. Using Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory as a lens to examine the registry, this article will show the stress present in the lives of the registrants. Specifically, the article will address coping mechanisms, anger, and several unintended consequences of …