Criminal Law Commons^™

Racial Disparities In Crime-Based Removal Proceedings, Emily Ryo, Ian Peacock, Weston Ley, Christopher Levesque

Faculty Scholarship

Whether and to what extent racial minorities experience harsher treatment or face worse outcomes in court are questions of fundamental importance for any justice system. Questions of racial inequality are especially salient in the context of removal proceedings that are triggered by immigrants’ criminal history. Many individuals in crime-based removal proceedings are immigrants of color who face a host of legal disadvantages that are tantamount to double penalties for the same crime for which they have already been punished through the criminal justice system. This Article offers, for the first time, systematic empirical analyses of crime-based removal proceedings decided between …

What’S Left Of The New Deal State?, Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal

Michigan Law Review Online

A vast body of scholarship situates itself in the New Deal era. Another extensive collection explores the history of criminal justice in the United States. To date, however, there has been little effort to bring these conversations together. New Deal Law and Order, written by legal historian Anthony Gregory, fills this conspicuous gap. Gregory remarkably narrates the New Deal era through the lens of President Franklin Roosevelt’s “war on crime” (p. 1), challenging how we think about both the New Deal’s legacy and the foundations of the modern security state.

Tonry’S Blueprint For The Comparative Study Of Sentencing Law And Policy, Kevin R. Reitz

Articles

This essay explores Michael Tonry’s treatment of sentencing law and policy within the U.S. as an inherently comparative project. The essay draws from Tonry’s “early period” in comparative sentencing from the late 1970s to the middle 1990s, when his writing was largely U.S.-centric, focued on quickly changing conditions in dozens of states and the federal system. Tonry classified the several models of “sentencing reform” that were being tried across the country, drew contrasts in the legal architectures of the new systems, collected data and evaluation research for as many states as possible, and treated the reform-active states as “laboratories” whose …

Fairness Writ Large Or Writ Small In International Criminal Justice, Nancy Combs

FIU Law Review

This article highlights the various, sometimes competing conceptions of fairness in international criminal law.

Beyond Policy: Overcoming Challenges In Prosecuting Gender Persecution At The International Criminal Court, Yvonne M. Dutton, Milena Sterio

FIU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Legalist Realism, Mark A. Drumbl

FIU Law Review

This article explores the scholarly footprint of Professor Megan Fairlie. This is a footprint of 'legalist realism'. Professor Fairlie was greatly concerned with legalism, in other words, the centrality of due process, the rights of the defendant, and human dignity in trials of individuals accused of the most heinous crimes. She was committed to put the law in international criminal law. And her view was one of realism, notably, that the structure of international institutions must be mindful of power politics, and expectations and ambitions ought to recognize the limitations and possibilities of politics in order to retain legitimacy and …

Provisional Release At International Criminal Courts And Tribunals – Lessons Learned?, Ava Schuster, Göran Sluiter

FIU Law Review

This article builds on Professor Meghan Fairlie’s earlier critique of pre-trial detention practices at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Fairlie identified significant shortcomings in safeguarding the right to liberty and the presumption of innocence of detainees, arguing that the Tribunal’s approach was inconsistent with international human rights law (IHRL). Fifteen years later, how has the International Criminal Court (ICC) addressed these concerns? While the Rome Statute introduces notable improvements, including an explicit commitment to IHRL, the Court’s practice still heavily favors detention over liberty. A key issue remains the ICC’s reliance on State cooperation for provisional …

Professor Megan A. Fairlie's Scholarship On The Relationship Between The United States And The International Criminal Court, Jennifer Trahan

FIU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Attendant Circumstances: A Reflection On Professor Megan A. Fairlie’S Mentorship, Casey Waldeck

FIU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Keynote Address For The 2025 University Of The Pacific Law Review Symposium: The Crime Victims' Rights Movement: Historical Foundations, Modern Ascendancy, And Future Aspirations, Paul Cassell

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

This article, which serves as the keynote address for the 2025 University of Pacific Law Review Symposium, explores the past, present, and future of America's crime victims' rights movement-one of the most successful social movements in modern history.

Historically, crime victims played a central role in criminal justice processes through private prosecutions-i.e., the ability of victims to initiate or participate in criminal prosecutions. Today, while private prosecutions have been largely supplanted by public prosecutions, the victims' rights movement has successfully restored the victims' voice in criminal processes. The movement has reformed contemporary American criminal justice so that criminal processes now …

Law Enforcement Privilege, Rebecca Wexler

Michigan Law Review

You can’t question a secret you haven’t been told. The criminal legal system depends on fair and open proceedings to expose and regulate unlawful and unconstitutional police conduct through the courts. If police can use claims of secrecy to systematically thwart criminal defendants’ access to evidence, judicial review will fail. And yet that is exactly what is happening under a common-law doctrine called the “law enforcement privilege.” The privilege empowers police and prosecutors to rely on the results of secret investigative methods while withholding information from the defense about how those methods work. It risks perpetuating unconstitutional conduct, enabling wrongful …

6. Mark: Sources And References, Matthew Lipman

Secondary School Curriculum

This sequential bibliography matches the 1980 edition of Mark page by page. It contains both sources—works that influenced Matthew Lipman in writing the novel—and references to philosophical works he and Ann Margaret Sharp recommend to explore the novels’ philosophical themes.

The Dangers Of Denying Prosecutorial Independence: Wrongful Convictions, Official Misconduct, And Public Corruption, Meagan R. Hurley

Articles

In recent years, desires to limit prosecutorial discretion have become the focus of a national dialogue on the authority of the elected officials, allegations of their misconduct, and the need for stronger accountability measures. Legislatures across the country have considered a slew of bills aimed at diminishing prosecutorial power by prohibiting “progressive” office policies, creating oversight commissions, and promulgating simplified processes to recall or remove prosecutors entirely. In various jurisdictions, those proposals are now coming to fruition. While heightened scrutiny for some of the legal system’s most powerful leaders may seem attractive, an analysis of national trends aimed at curtailing …

Concealed Carry And The Right To Self Defense In Missouri, Andrew Stafford Ii

Law Student Works

Firearm regulation, both nationally and in Missouri, sits at the center of ongoing constitutional debate and evolving public policy. Missouri’s legal landscape reflects a significant shift over the past two decades. The state moved from a traditional permit-based concealed carry system to a broad permitless carry framework that allows most adults to carry concealed firearms without a permit. This shift follows major developments in federal Second Amendment case law, including District of Columbia v. Heller, McDonald v. Chicago, and New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen, as well as Missouri’s 2014 constitutional amendment requiring courts to evaluate restrictions …

An Eye For An Eye Makes A Vigilant Society, Liam C. Preyer

Capstone Showcase

Vigilantism is one of the oldest practices of mankind; for as long as there have been moral and legal laws to govern us and live by, there have been individuals who have sought justice outside these systems. Vigilantism is the response to failures in the justice system, and in the United States in particular, we have seen examples from the Western Frontier to the modern-day digital landscape. This paper will explore the nature of vigilante justice through historical, psychological, media-driven, legal, and digital lenses. We will explore how cultural narratives, media influences, government actions, and psychological motivations have shaped the …

Penggunaan Unconventional Weapons Dalam Konflik Bersenjata Modern, Fadhillah Wahid Pramudya Aldiansyach

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

The use of unconventional weapons such as cluster munitions, white phosphorus, nuclear weapons, artificial intelligence-based autonomous systems (AI/LAWS), and military neurotechnology is increasingly dominating modern armed conflicts. The characteristics of these weapons, particularly their widespread effects, uncertainty of control, and potential for automatic escalation, can pose serious challenges to the application of the principles of distinction and proportionality in International Humanitarian Law (IHL), especially when used in densely populated areas. The modernization of nuclear systems, the accelerated integration of AI into military command, and the emergence of neurotechnology indicate a regulatory gap that could potentially undermine humanitarian protection. This study …

Pengakuan Hak Masyarakat Adat Dalam Hukum Pengelolaan Sumber Daya Alam: Studi Perbandingan Indonesia–Australia, Farid Al Hadana, Sukarman Sukarman, Farhan Margono, Hamzah Hamzah

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Meskipun terdapat pengakuan konstitusional di Indonesia dan Australia, hak-hak masyarakat adat dalam tata kelola sumber daya alam masih lemah perlindungannya, terutama karena kerangka kerja Indonesia yang terfragmentasi dan tersentralisasi gagal mewujudkan keadilan lingkungan. Makalah ini membandingkan rezim hukum Indonesia dan Australia terkait tata kelola lahan dan sumber daya masyarakat adat untuk mengidentifikasi bagaimana pengakuan dapat diubah menjadi hak yang dapat ditegakkan dan untuk merumuskan model reformasi yang berorientasi pada keadilan bagi Indonesia. Dengan menggunakan analisis hukum komparatif kualitatif, makalah ini menggabungkan observasi doktrinal terhadap yurisprudensi konstitusional, peraturan-undangan, dan yurisprudensi dengan pemeriksaan dokumen kebijakan dan konflik ilustratif yang melibatkan wilayah masyarakat …

The Authenticity Trap: Political Deepfakes And The Limits Of Current Regulation, Akriti Gaur

National Law School of India Review

This paper examines the emerging regulatory challenge posed by political deepfakes, with a particular focus on India’s 2024 elections and the legal responses that followed. It argues that regulatory responses that directly prohibit or remove political speech risk collapsing questions of authenticity into questions of legality. Using India as the central case study, and drawing comparative lessons from recent developments in the United States, the paper argues for a regulatory approach focused less on banning synthetic political content and more on provenance, disclosures, and institutional preparedness. Deepfake regulation, if poorly designed, risks strengthening state control over political discourse. The paper …

‘What Can A Comma Do?’: Re-Examining Victorian Criminalisation Of Obscenity Through The Flawed Interlinking Of ‘Decency Or Morality’ Under The Strain Of Modern Liberal Consciousness, Ratika Gaur

National Law School of India Review

This paper argues that the rhetorical nature of India’s post-independence obscenity jurisprudence stems from the interlinking of two distinct (behavioural v. normative) categories into the singular provision of ‘decency or morality’ under Article 19(2). This interlinking emerged amidst the socio-economic and cultural upheavals in Victorian England, wherein moral anxieties around the ‘visibility’ of obscenity reflected a crisis of political obligation within the modern liberal consciousness. Operating through the logic of deterrence, this consciousness criminalized obscenity due to its ideationally incapacity to accommodate liminal expressions—acts that were neither neatly civil, nor outright criminal, even when offensive. In this regard, one substantive …

Reevaluating Felon-In-Possession Laws After Bruen And The War On Drugs, Laura Ginsberg Abelson

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

The legal landscape surrounding firearm possession is evolving rapidly. In 2022, the Supreme Court accelerated its expansion of the individual right to bear arms under the Second Amendment in New York Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen. Since Bruen, courts around the country have struck down nearly all types of firearm regulations, with a notable exception: felon-in-possession laws. This Article examines the implications of a legal landscape where those who have prior felony convictions, and especially prior drug convictions, are punished harshly for the same behavior—possession of a firearm—that is constitutionally protected for nearly everyone else. I argue …