Criminal Law Commons^™

A Comparative Analysis Of Criminal Justice Systems In The United States And Scandinavia, Tyler Truelock

Ohio Northern University International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Kings, Conquerors, Psychopaths: From Alexander To Hitler To The Corporation, Tim Bakken

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The book Kings, Conquerors, Psychopaths is a survey of a vast amount of human wrongdoing. It lays bare the motivations of aggressors who wish to subjugate nations or groups of people and corporate executives and government bureaucrats who make discretionary decisions that harm people. Along with cataloging mass killings by despots and soldiers, the book includes stories about Ponzi-schemers and the deaths of automobile drivers and passengers who were killed by vehicle defects known to the manufacturer. The book posits that “[p]owerful, elite forces are trying to force us backward toward a non-democratic state, one where power, wealth, and prerogative …

“He’S In Jail Now And I Don’T Feel Bad”: Analyzing Sureties’ Decisions To Report Bail Violations, Rachel Schumann, Carolyn Yule

International Journal on Responsibility

The control, supervision, and rehabilitation of criminalized people often falls on the shoulders of non-state agents and organizations. Surety bail releases are a clear embodiment of this trend, as the courts call upon relatives, friends, and employers to supervise the pre-conviction activity of people accused of a crime. According to the law, sureties must report all bail violations to the police; the resulting diffusion of responsibility is said to increase the penal state’s power and control over criminal justice-involved individuals while minimizing reputational risks. Yet how sureties carry out this role in the community remains unexplored. Using data from 36 …

Public Perceptions And Legal Dimensions Of Juvenile Sexting, Corey Call

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

The sending of sexually explicit messages, or “sexting” has been recognized as a common practice among youths. As sexting may involve the creation and distribution of sexually explicit images and videos, juvenile sexters can be charged with offenses related to child pornography. This study examined public attitudes toward juvenile sexting and demographic influences on these views. Based on a quantitative survey of 1,023 U.S. adults, the majority of respondents (51.8%) disapproved of criminalization in cases of consensual sexting, but 80% supported legal repercussions for nonconsensual sharing. Respondents primarily favored educational interventions (67.4%) and restrictions on technology use (53.4%) over harsh …

Is There Really Anything Wrong With That? An Aristotelian Analysis Of Duty, Luke J. Mcgrath

Honors College Theses

In the iconic Seinfeld series finale, Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer find themselves in a peculiar legal predicament when they mock a crime rather than intervene to help the victim. The show’s commitment to portraying reality, even in its finale, vividly demonstrates the potential consequences of a society lacking the legal obligation to aid others. This comical incident raises a thought-provoking question about the legitimacy of duty-to-act laws in the United States. This thesis examines the application of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics to the concept of duty-to-act laws and argues for the necessity and benefits of such laws in promoting a …

When A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Sentences: A Call To Reword Federal Sentencing Of Non-Production Child Pornography Offenses In The United States, Lucy T. Shephard

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Honest Belief And Proof Of Unlawful Motive, Eric Schnapper

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Walking With Shadows And Phantoms: The Presumption Of Innocence And Bail Determinations, Davis Badger Anderson

Buffalo Law Review

One-hundred and twenty-eight years after “the Supreme Court of the United States had an opportunity to clear up the confusion and ambiguity that hang[s] over the common talk about the presumption of innocence,”1 the confusion persists. This lingering confusion is at its most stringent in federal bail determinations where, despite legislative intent, precedent, and logic to the contrary, it is invoked to discount the weight of the evidence against the defendant in deciding what conditions will secure presence at trial or safety to the community. Furthermore, the presumption’s path from an instrument of proof to its status as a right …

Perlmutter Center For Legal Justice At Cardozo Law Asks Ny Governor Kathy Hochul To Sign Wrongful Convictions Act, Josh Dubin

Perlmutter Center Letters

The Law expands legal recourse for those wrongfully convicted including the right to counsel and the ability to challenge flawed scientific evidence.

The Perlmutter Center for Legal Justice at Cardozo Law has asked New York State Governor Kathy Hochul to sign the Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act.

The law (S.7548) was passed by both houses of the New York State legislature. If signed, it will expand legal recourse for those wrongfully convicted in New York including the right to counsel, the ability to challenge flawed or outdated scientific evidence, gives innocent people who pleaded guilty the right to apply for post …

Insanity And Incompetency: Courts, Communities, And The Intersections Of Mental Illness And Criminal Justice In The Wake Of Kahler And Trueblood, Gwendolyn West

Golden Gate University Law Review

Today, people with mental illnesses in the United States are ten times more likely to be incarcerated than hospitalized. About 20 percent of the United States population experiences some kind of mental illness each year, and about 3 to 5 percent of the population experiences a severe and persistent mental illness. By contrast, more than 60 percent of jail inmates and at least 45 percent of prison inmates in the United States have a diagnosed mental illness. Studies have found that anywhere from 25 percent to 71 percent of people with serious mental illness in a given community have a …

Locked Away For Life: The Case Against Juvenile Life Without Parole For Felony Murder, Jennifer Gomez

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment argues that life without the possibility of parole is not an appropriate sentence for juveniles who commit felony murder because of the inherent characteristics of juveniles, such as their immaturity and inability to foresee consequences. At the age of seventeen, Riley Briones was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for his involvement in a robbery that resulted in a murder. Abused by his father throughout his childhood, Briones’ use of alcohol and drugs began early at the age of eleven. While he had aspired to attend college, Briones became a teen parent which required him to …

Dna Analysis: The Answer For Unsolved Cases?, Sarah Hetchler

Master of Arts in Criminal Justice Leadership

DNA analysis has become a crucial part of solving cases. It has developed significantly since its creation in the mid-1980s. The longing for answers within unsolved cases is historically lengthy, leaving traces of distrust and injustice. Criminologists offer a potential solution to the mess created by connecting DNA analysis to protect victims and communities. DNA evidence and analysis can assist in solving cases and provide answers for exonerees. Like public genealogy websites, law enforcement agencies must acknowledge new methods to solve issues. Not only could law enforcement agencies solve and arrest suspects through DNA analysis, but DNA could also provide …

Legal And Health Risks Of Abortion Criminalization: State Policy Responses In The Immediate Aftermath Of Dobbs, Adrienne R. Ghorashi, Deanna Baumle

Journal of Law and Health

Major changes to the landscape of abortion law and service delivery have rapidly proliferated since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs, in some cases overnight. Using legal epidemiology methods, the authors of this Article and a team of researchers created a legal dataset that identifies and tracks state laws impacting abortion access in the months immediately following the Dobbs ruling. This Article explores the dataset's findings, detailing changes in abortion laws including abortion bans and related penalties, interstate shield laws, and data privacy protections, from June 1, 2022 through January 1, 2023. While several states moved quickly to restrict …

Mitigation Reports In Capital Cases: Legal And Ethical Issues, Russell Stetler, W. Bradley Wendel

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

The mitigation investigation that is essential in every capital case requires a multidisciplinary team. The duty to conduct this investigation is clearly established federal law, as well as an ethical obligation of counsel. The mitigation evidence that is uncovered is of vital importance to the rights of the individual accused of a capital offense, but also to reliable outcomes since all decisionmakers—including prosecutors, jurors, and judges—need the most complete and accurate picture of the person facing the punishment of last resort. This Article discusses some of the unique legal and ethical issues affecting the documentation of this investigation. The Authors …

Preliminary-Hearing Waivers And The Contract To Negotiate, Michael D. Cicchini

Pepperdine Law Review

Plea bargaining often begins very early in a criminal case—sometimes before the preliminary hearing, or “prelim,” is held. Be-cause of the time, effort, and risk involved in holding a prelim, the prosecutor may make the defendant a prelim waiver offer. That is, if the defendant agrees to waive the prelim, the prosecutor will hold a particular plea offer open for the defendant’s future consideration. Such prelim waiver offers may be skeletal, at best, but will often include the promise of “future negotiations” to fill in the details. When the prosecutor obtains the defendant’s prelim waiver for the promise of future …

Keeping Fair Chance Laws Fair: Implications For Employers And Employees Given The Expansion And Variety Of Fair Chance Laws In The United States, Caitlin T. Gaines

Catholic University Law Review

Jurisdictions around the United States have adopted, and are considering adopting, fair chance laws, also known as “ban the box” laws, to improve access to employment opportunities for those with criminal histories. For years, individuals with criminal records – approximately one in four U.S. adults – have been disadvantaged when employers heavily rely upon criminal background checks during the hiring process. Now, with the proliferation of fair chance laws which require employers to avoid considering criminal history in hiring decisions, public and private employers are faced with implementation concerns as they adapt their hiring practices to ensure compliance with the …

The Assassination Of Dr. Martin Luther King: Understanding The Criminal Behavior And Prosecution Of James Earl Ray, Scott P. Johnson

Ohio Northern University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Bending The Rules Of Evidence, Edward K. Cheng, G. Alexander Nunn, Julia Simon-Kerr

Northwestern University Law Review

The evidence rules have well-established, standard textual meanings—meanings that evidence professors teach their law students every year. Yet, despite the rules’ clarity, courts misapply them across a wide array of cases: Judges allow past acts to bypass the propensity prohibition, squeeze hearsay into facially inapplicable exceptions, and poke holes in supposedly ironclad privileges. And that’s just the beginning.

The evidence literature sees these misapplications as mistakes by inept trial judges. This Article takes a very different view. These “mistakes” are often not mistakes at all, but rather instances in which courts are intentionally bending the rules of evidence. Codified evidentiary …

Innocent Until Proven Mentally Incompetent., Jade Smith

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

Abstract Forthcoming.