Criminal Law Commons^™

Cassinelli V. State Of Nevada, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 62 131(Aug. 27, 2015), Mackenzie Warren

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court of Appeals determined that (1) the district court erred by ruling that Cassinelli was not eligible for alcohol treatment under NRS § 458.300(1)(d); (2) the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Cassinelli’s request for assignment to a program of treatment; (3) the plea agreement was not breached and the prosecutor did not engage in misconduct at sentencing; (4) the district court did not err by refusing Cassinelli an opportunity to cross-examine the victim during her impact statement at sentencing; (5) Cassinelli’s sentence was illegal.

For Trinkets, Tonics, And Terrorism: International Wildlife Poaching In The Twenty-First Century, Ranee Khooshie Lal Panjabi

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Crime In America, Joseph H. Hill

Akron Law Review

Americans have traditionally been able to meet the challenge of critical situations once the collective consciences of the people have been united and committed to a common cause. If we are aware of the causes of crime as stated by Ramsey Clark, then such a united effort must be launched if America is to remain a country where all men are free to live in peace and without fear.

Suspicious Person Ordinances - Due Process Standards; Columbus V. Thompson, Joel R. Campbell

Akron Law Review

In the absence of circumstances involving First Amendment rights, we are left without guidelines as to the conduct which may be made criminal by local suspicious person ordinances. Because of this lack of adequate standards, a case by case determination of criminal conduct under the various ordinances is necessary. In Thompson the defendant's conduct was questionable and the court found the ordinance unconstitutionally vague. We can only hope that this decision has a sufficient impact upon law enforcement officials and local courts to minimize the injury resulting from vagueness.

Book Review: Crime In America, Joseph H. Hill

Akron Law Review

The main method of the author in describing crime in America is to relate criminal cases, cite statistics, and to generally show the economic and social factors of this country that deny persons access to legitimate opportunities. The illegitimate opportunities that exist for potential criminals are unlimited and admittance to the criminal class demonstrates the belief in another road to win social rewards-money and prestige by sheer physical exertion and stamina.

Suspicious Person Ordinances - Due Process Standards; Columbus V. Thompson, Joel R. Campbell

Akron Law Review

In the absence of circumstances involving First Amendment rights, we are left without guidelines as to the conduct which may be made criminal by local suspicious person ordinances. Because of this lack of adequate standards, a case by case determination of criminal conduct under the various ordinances is necessary. In Thompson the defendant's conduct was questionable and the court found the ordinance unconstitutionally vague. We can only hope that this decision has a sufficient impact upon law enforcement officials and local courts to minimize the injury resulting from vagueness.

Criminal Law - Search And Seizure - Scope Of The Term - "Frisk"; State V. Henry, Anthony J. Occhipinti Jr.

Akron Law Review

State v. Henry is a case involving prosecution for the unlawful possession of narcotic drugs. Henry was convicted on evidence obtained as a result of a "frisk." It should be made clear at the outset that a "frisk" is not a "full" search as is permitted in situations where there is probable cause for arrest. The "frisk" is limited to a protective search or pat-down of the outer clothing for the purpose of detecting weapons. Even though probable cause is not a condition precedent to a "frisk," the "frisk" is, nevertheless, governed by the Reasonableness Clause of the Fourth Amendment. …

Criminal Law - Search And Seizure - Scope Of The Term - "Frisk"; State V. Henry, Anthony J. Occhipinti Jr.

Akron Law Review

State v. Henry' is a case involving prosecution for the unlawful possession of narcotic drugs. Henry was convicted on evidence obtained as a result of a "frisk." It should be made clear at the outset that a "frisk" is not a "full" search as is permitted in situations where there is probable cause for arrest. The "frisk" is limited to a protective search or pat-down of the outer clothing for the purpose of detecting weapons. Even though probable cause is not a condition precedent to a "frisk," the "frisk" is, nevertheless, governed by the Reasonableness Clause of the Fourth Amendment. …

Book Review: Psychiatric Justice, Alice M. Batchelder

Akron Law Review

In an era in which extensive judicial emphasis has been placed on "due process of law" in criminal proceedings, both in the federal courts and in the state courts, Dr. Szasz's book serves as a jarring reminder that in at least one vital area of the concept of due process, much remains to be done. The emerging definition of due process has enunciated the rights guaranteed the individual by the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments; and viewed within that framework, this book, although published in 1965, remains particularly timely, for Szasz, speaking as a psychiatrist, endeavors to demonstrate how …

Denial Of Speedy Trial - Mandamus For Dismissal: Smith V. Hooey, Charles F. Brumbach

Akron Law Review

The Court reasoned that the timely assertion by defendant-petitioner of his constitutional right to a speedy trial gave rise to a corresponding duty on the part of the state to bring him to trial without undue delay.The Court rejected the state's argument that Texas was, in this instance, free from Sixth Amendment constraints, observing that this argument was based on an erroneous conception of the nature of comity.

Given the recognized right to a speedy trial, and given the corresponding duty on the part of the state to affirmatively secure that constitutional right, the breach of such a duty will …

Infanticide - Requirement That The Victim Be Born Alive; State V. Dickinson, Richard R. Wilfong

Akron Law Review

This case is unique, because it is the first time a court has imposed a conviction of homicide for the death of a viable unborn fetus caused by an unlawful but unintentional act. The evidence is persuasive beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, without due regard for the safety and rights of others, and in such a manner as to endanger the life or property of other persons in lawful use of the streets and highways. The soundness of the court's finding depends upon a determination of the …

Duty Of Trial Judge When Defendant Objects To Competency Of His Counsel; State V. Deal, Nicholas T. George

Akron Law Review

Obviously, from the quoted statement, Justice Schneider felt that the Supreme Court had no way of knowing whether or not the objection was valid. The record failed to reveal why there was no alibi defense filed or why there were no defense witnesses called. The record being silent, one could hypothesize that appointed counsel talked to defendant's witnesses and felt that their testimony would be of no avail. Moreover, it is possible that after appointed counsel investigated the alibi defense he found it useless. It is here, to this third issue, that the force of the Supreme Court's decision must …

Book Review: Imaginative Programing In Probation And Parole, James C. Shew

Akron Law Review

The tactics and policies of criminal courts and penologists are now approaching Robert Frost's "two roads diverging in a yellow wood." Like Frost's lone traveler, society must choose which road to take: the well-traveled one or the newly-charted one. Paul W. Keve, Director of Court Services in Minneapolis, has become a pace-setter in the use of probation and parole by choosing the latter course. For first offenders and one-time repeaters Keve substitutes a restrained but flexible leniency for a rigid strictness; individual attention for an impersonal assemblyline procedure; and positive stimuli for punitive measures.

Using counseling (by caseworkers), group sessions, …

Application Of Ohio Post-Conviction Procedure - Effect Of Prior Judgment On.; Coley V. Alvis, Thomas A. Geraci Jr.

Akron Law Review

In the per curiam decision of Coley v. Alvis' the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed an Ohio District Court decision dismissing Coley's petition for habeas corpus for failure to exhaust his state remedies. The circuit Court remanded, stating that it would be futile for petitioner to attempt to void his conviction under the Ohio post-conviction statute because of the narrow limits placed on it by the state courts and that there was consequently no longer any effective state remedy. Since the grounds that petitioner set forth to sustain his writ did not fall within any …

Book Review: Sex Offenders, Emery J. Leuchtag

Akron Law Review

There has been a long-standing interest in sex offenses and sex offenders, and with the growth of the behavioral sciences this subject has been given increasing attention. Articles have been written, legislatures have either revised old statutes or enacted new ones, and the news media have published numerous studies of sexual offenses.

Nevertheless, despite all of this coverage of modern sexuality, little is known about sex offenders. Because of this, the Institute For Sex Research of Indiana University, founded by Alfred Kinsey, has added another volume to its growing library of publications concerning human sexual behavior.

Constitutional Rights Of Youthful Offenders; In The Matter Of Gault, Robert M. Kunczt

Akron Law Review

After the decisions in Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U. S. 335 (1963), Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436 (1966), and Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U. S. 478 (1964), which revealed the Supreme Court's solicitude of the constitutional rights of adults, it seemed improbable that the lower courts would long be permitted to continue ignoring the constitutional rights of juveniles. Thus the decision in the principal case, which represents a breakthrough in the assurance of a fair hearing to minors, comes as no surprise. The case holds that under the Fourteenth Amendment a juvenile has a right to notice of …

Confessions, Miranda's Applicability; Clewis V. Texas, Howard E. Mentzer

Akron Law Review

Recent United States Supreme Court decisions concerning the admissibility of statements or confessions into evidence have sharply curtailed haphazard interrogation procedures. As courts have become more punctilious about "due process" and other constitutional guarantees, a greater degree of care and fairness has been demanded in soliciting information and advising uninformed individuals of their rights.

Ohio's Post-Conviction Appeal Remedy, Timothy J. Murty

Akron Law Review

Ohio has recently adopted legislation intended to provide a prisoner with a means of testing, in the court which originally imposed sentence, the constitutional validity of his sentence. This legislation is intended to provide a remedy which will supplement the writ of habeas corpus. Jurisdiction in habeas corpus proceedings lies in the court of the county in which the prisoner is confined. In recent years the courts located in counties containing state correctional institutions have been deluged with habeas corpus petitions.

Criminal Responsibility: Knowledge, Will And Choice, Robert J. Willey

Akron Law Review

The Court acknowledged that the M'Naghten formula was the recognized test for insanity, that it was a test of criminal responsibility rather than a medical test of insanity, that it has been followed in a classic fashion, that each doctor had compressed his final conclusion into the required M'Naghten strait jacket, and that the defense had proved by the greater weight of the evidence that the defendant was not guilty by reason of insanity.

Both of these courts claimed to be following M'Naghten, though the Colby court decried its present use, and the Keaton court approved an instruction that included …

Rights Of State Prisoners - Federal Court Intervention In State Prison Administration; Jones V. Wittenberg, Ronald L. Collins

Akron Law Review

The path to federal court intervention into state prison administration has been a tortuous and rocky one.... Jones v. Wittenberg carries federal court intervention into state prison administration to new lengths. Until more basic and lasting changes are made on the part of society and the states, such intervention seems to be the best chance for ameliorating conditions in our state penal systems.