Guest post: Dan Subotnik: “Redefining Rape”? Let's Hope Not; Or Catharine MacKinnon is at it Again

Our Genitals, Ourselves. For many years, chaired Harvard law professor, feminist icon, and mother of sexual harassment jurisprudence Catharine MacKinnon has held that, far from being an emotional and physical blessing, sex is an attack on women's bodies and a...

"Federal judge blasts Philly DA's 'juvenile lifers' policy"

From The Philadelphia Inquirer, via the NACDL news scan: An openly frustrated U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Savage - who ordered a new sentence for Songster four years ago, and again in August with a 120-day deadline - said the...

Dissent from cert denial in ineffectiveness/death penalty case

Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ginsburg, dissented from the denial of certiorari in Elmore v. Holbrook.

"James Cartwright, Ex-General, Pleads Guilty in Leak Case"

From The New York Times: The plea completes a stunning fall from grace for General Cartwright, who was known as “Obama's favorite general,” and it adds a new twist to a surge of leak-related criminal cases in the Obama era....

"Florida: death sentence unconstitutional without unanimous jury vote"

From Jurist: JURIST - Florida: death sentence unconstitutional without unanimous jury vote The Florida Supreme Court [official website] on Friday held [opinion, PDF] that a trial court may not impose the death penalty unless the jury's recommended sentence of death...

Anderson on Use of Deadly Force

José F. Anderson (University of Baltimore - School of Law) has posted From Fugitives to Ferguson: Repairing Historical and Structural Defects in Legally Sanctioned Use of Deadly Force (Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, Vol. 49, 2015) on SSRN....

Ristroph on The Constitution of Police Violence

Alice Ristroph (Seton Hall University - School of Law) has posted The Constitution of Police Violence (UCLA Law Review, Vol. 64, No. 5, 2017 Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Police force is again under scrutiny in the United...

"Why 'Public Defender' Has Become An Oxymoron"

From The Philadelphia Citizen, via NACDL's news scan: In Kuren v. Luzerne County, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said: “We recognize for the first time in Pennsylvania a prospective cause of action enabling indigent criminal defendants to prove that the level...

Carpenter on Commander Bias in Sexual Assault Cases

Eric R. Carpenter (FIU College of Law) has posted An Empirical Look at Commander Bias in Sexual Assault Cases (21 Berkeley J. Crim. L. (2017 Forthcoming)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In response to the American military's perceived inability...

"Despite Ken Thompson's Short Stint as Brooklyn Prosecutor, Agenda May Endure"

From The New York Times: Though he could be a prickly manager and was recently fined for using taxpayer money to buy his daily meals, Mr. Thompson instinctively grasped the broader implications of his work, Ms. Reiss and others said,...

Schulz on Law and Justice on TV

Jennifer L. Schulz (University of Manitoba, Faculty of Law) have posted A Transnational Study of Law & Justice on TV: Canada (A Transnational Study of Law & Justice on TV, Peter Robson & Jennifer L. Schulz (eds.) published by Hart,...

"San Francisco Fields a Mental-Health SWAT Team"

From The New York Times: Officials said the idea was to let highly trained clinicians try to pacify troubled individuals, and hopefully avoid the sorts of deadly police confrontations that have recently set off protests around the country. During any...

Stinneford on The Original Meaning of "Cruel"

John F. Stinneford (University of Florida - Levin College of Law) has posted The Original Meaning of 'Cruel' (Georgetown Law Journal, Vol. 105, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article demonstrates that the word “cruel” in the Cruel...

Malkani on Dignity and the Death Penalty

Bharat Malkani (University of Birmingham) has posted Dignity and the Death Penalty in the US Supreme Court (Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly, Vol. 44, No. 2, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The US Supreme Court has repeatedly invoked the...

Webb on Slave Narratives and the Sentencing Court

Lindsey Webb (University of Denver Sturm College of Law) has posted Slave Narratives and the Sentencing Court (NYU Review of Law and Social Change, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The United States incarcerates a greater percentage of its...

"Inside the Chicago Police Department's secret budget "

This piece in the Chicago Reader, cited on the NACDL website, is based on freedom-of-information-act requests and addresses expenditures of funds acquired through forfeiture. In part: The Chicago Police Department doesn't disclose its forfeiture income or expenditures to the public,...

"Could Officers Have Avoided Shooting Keith Scott? Experts Weigh In"

The New York Times has this interesting piece, with law enforcement experts analyzing how the encounter might have been handled differently.

UCLA Criminal Justice Program

is seeking an executive director. This is a non-tenure track position. The release follows the jump. The UCLA School of Law is seeking a highly energetic individual with significant criminal justice policy and/or legal practice experience to be the Executive...

West on Crimes During Protests

Jessica L. West (Vermont Law School) has posted Protest Is Different (University of Richmond Law Review, Vol. 50, No. 2, Pp. 737-81, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Acts of civil disobedience, long used to provoke social change, ignite...

Stratmann & Thomas on Emergency Response Time and the Decline in Homicides

Thomas Stratmann and David Chandler Thomas (George Mason University - Buchanan Center Political Economy and Ball State University) have posted Dial 911 for Murder: The Impact of Emergency Response Time on Homicides on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Several theories...

Nunn on Pretrial Attorney Speech

Kenneth B. Nunn (University of Florida - Levin College of Law) has posted Ideology, Gentile and Pretrial Attorney Speech: A Response to Professor Tarkington (66 Fla. L. Rev. Forum 35 (2015)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In this brief...

Perlin & Lynch on Arrests of Persons with Mental Disabilities

Michael L. Perlin and Alison J. Lynch (New York Law School and Disability Rights New York) have posted 'To Wander Off in Shame': Deconstructing the Shaming and Shameful Arrest Policies of Urban Police Departments in Their Treatment of Persons with...

Holroyd & Picinali on Implicit Bias, Self-Defence, and the Reasonable Person

Jules Holroyd and Federico Picinali (University of Sheffield and London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE)) have posted Implicit Bias, Self-Defence, and the Reasonable Person (The Criminal Law's Person, edited by Claes Lernestedt and Matt Matravers (OUP 2017 Forthcoming))...

Fisk & Richardson on Police Unions

Catherine Fisk and L. Song Richardson (University of California, Irvine School of Law and University of California, Irvine School of Law) have posted Police Unions (George Washington Law Review, Vol. 85, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Perhaps no...

Bailey on Cyberbullying and Cyberviolence

Jane Bailey (University of Ottawa - Common Law Section) has posted Canadian Legal Approaches to 'Cyberbullying' and Cyberviolence: An Overview on SSRN. Here is the abstract: As early as the mid 1990s Canadian economic and social policy prioritized getting young...

Gruber on Rape Law Revisited

Aya Gruber (University of Colorado Law School) has posted Rape Law Revisited (13 Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law 279 (2016)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This essay introduces the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law Symposium, “Rape Law...

Oosterhuis & Loughnan on Historical Perspectives on Forensic Psychiatry

Harry Oosterhuis and Arlie Loughnan (Maastricht University - Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and University of Sydney - Faculty of Law) have posted Madness and Crime: Historical Perspectives on Forensic Psychiatry (International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, Vol. 37,...

Woods on Assessing Time Served

Patrick Arthur Woods has posted Assessing Time Served (Cardozo Public Law, Policy and Ethics Journal, Vol. 15, No. 1, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article examines the utility of a new way of determining when increased punishment...

Marder on Foster v. Chatman and the Peremptory Challenge

Nancy S. Marder (Illinois Institute of Technology - Chicago-Kent College of Law) has posted Foster v. Chatman: A Missed Opportunity for Batson and the Peremptory Challenge on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In the 2015 Term, the United States Supreme...

Shearing & Stenning on Modern Private Security

Clifford Shearing and Philip Stenning (Griffith Institute of Criminology and Griffith University) have posted Modern Private Security: Its Growth and Implications (In: Tonry, M. & Morris, N. Eds. Crime and Justice: An Annual Review of Research, Vol. 3. Chicago: University...

Loughnan on Veterans as Defendants

Arlie Loughnan (University of Sydney - Faculty of Law) has posted 'Society Owes Them Much': Veteran Defendants and Criminal Responsibility in Australia in the Twentieth Century (Critical Analysis of Law, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 106-134, 2015) on SSRN. Here...

Vandevort on Implied Consent and Sexual Assault

Lucinda Vandervort (University of Saskatchewan) has posted Book Review ― Michael Plaxton, Implied Consent and Sexual Assault: Intimate Relationships, Autonomy, and Voice. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2015 (Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here...

Sweeney on Adultery and Fornication Laws

Joanne Sweeney (University of Louisville) has posted Undead Statutes: The Rise, Fall, and Continuing Uses of Adultery and Fornication Criminal Laws (46 Loy. U. Chi. L.J. 127 (2014)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Cohabitation is a reality for a...

Ouziel on Jury Evaluation of Law Enforcement

Lauren M. Ouziel (Temple University - James E. Beasley School of Law) has posted Beyond Law and Fact: Jury Evaluation of Law Enforcement (Notre Dame Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Criminal trials today are as much...

Green on Ethics for Death-Penalty Defense Lawyers

Bruce A. Green (Fordham University School of Law) has posted Should There Be a Specialized Ethics Code for Death-Penalty Defense Lawyers? (Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, Vol. 29, No. 527, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: State ethics codes...

Crocker on Order, Technology, and the Constitutional Meanings of Criminal Procedure

Thomas P. Crocker (University of South Carolina School of Law) has posted Order, Technology, and the Constitutional Meanings of Criminal Procedure (Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vol. 103, No. 3, 2013) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article...

Liivak on Criminal Patent Applications

Oskar Liivak (Cornell Law School) has posted Overclaiming is Criminal on SSRN. Here is the abstract: For some time patent law has been criticized for a flood of bad patents. Patents of questionable validity are being issued with broad often-nebulous...

Thomas on Corporations as Persons under the Criminal Law

W. Robert Thomas (Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP) has posted When and How Corporations Became Persons under the Criminal Law, and Why It Matters Now on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Supreme Court concluded in 1909 that a...

Place on Post Conviction Developments In Pennsylvania

Thomas M. Place (Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson Law) has posted Post Conviction Developments in Pennsylvania on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Post Conviction Relief Act ("PCRA" or "the Act") provides a procedure for defendants to collaterally challenge their conviction...

Tisdale on Constitutional Errors at Trial

Gavin R. Tisdale (University of Connecticut, School of Law, Students) has posted A New Look at Constitutional Errors in a Criminal Trial (Connecticut Law Review, Vol. 48, No. 5, July 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: On appeal, an...

Cohen on Benefit-Cost Analysis of Criminal Justice Policy

Mark A. Cohen (Vanderbilt University - Owen Graduate School of Management) has posted The 'Cost of Crime' and Benefit-Cost Analysis of Criminal Justice Policy: Understanding and Improving Upon the State-of-the-Art on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The use of benefit-cost...

Arlen & Kahan on Corporate Governance Regulation Through Non-Prosecution

Jennifer Arlen and Marcel Kahan (New York University School of Law and New York University School of Law) have posted Corporate Governance Regulation Through Non-Prosecution (University of Chicago Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Over the last...

Kamin on Legal Cannabis

Sam Kamin (University of Denver Sturm College of Law) has posted Legal Cannabis in the US: Not Whether But How? (UC Davis Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The 2016 election promises to be a turning point...

Priel on Criminalization and Welfare

Dan Priel (York University - Osgoode Hall Law School) has posted Criminalization and Welfare (Criminalization: Domestic and International Perspectives (Neha Jain & François Tanguay Renaud eds., Oxford University Press, 2017 Forthcoming)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A standard view...

Ramsey on The Stereotyped Domestic Violence Offender

Carolyn B. Ramsey (University of Colorado Law School) has posted The Stereotyped Offender: Domestic Violence and the Failure of Intervention (Penn State Law Review, Vol. 120, No. 2, pp. 337-420, 2015) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Scholars and battered...

Koops on Cybercrime and Cyber-Terrorism

Bert-Jaap Koops (Tilburg University - Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT)) has posted Megatrends and Grand Challenges of Cybercrime and Cyber-Terrorism Policy and Research (in: B. Akhgar & B. Brewster (eds), Combatting Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism. Challenges, Trends and...

"The Difficulty Of Enforcing Laws Against Driving While High"

From Colorado Public Radio, courtesy of NACDL: McLean is a regular marijuana user but she insists she never drives while high. Still, the cop at the checkpoint tells her he smells marijuana and that her eyes are bloodshot. Eventually he...

Sachsida on Deterring Homicides in Brazil

Adolfo Sachsida, Mario Jorge Cardoso Mendonca, Tito Belchior Silva Moreira and Paulo R. A. Loureiro (Catholic University of Brasilia, Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA) - Directory of Macroeconomic Policy & Studies (DIMAC), Catholic University of Brasilia and University of...

"Why Jerry Sandusky May Be Innocent"

This interesting story is at The Crime Report, addressing the extent to which the case was built on recovery of "repressed memories" and the problems with that approach, which of course are not limited to the Sandusky case. Hat tip:...

Litman & Rahman on Beckles and AEDPA

Leah M Litman and Shakeer Rahman (University of California, Irvine School of Law and affiliation not provided to SSRN) have posted What Lurks Below Beckles (Northwestern University Law Review, Vol. 111, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Supreme...

Stoughton on Warrior Cops and Guardian Officers

Seth W. Stoughton (University of South Carolina School of Law) has posted Principled Policing: Warrior Cops and Guardian Officers (Wake Forest Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Policing in the United States is in crisis. Public confidence...

Sklansky on Elections of Prosecutors

David Alan Sklansky (Stanford University) has posted The Changing Political Landscape for Elected Prosecutors (Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, Vol. 14, No. 2, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: For years the only serious question about district attorney...

Rolnick on Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction

Addie Rolnick (University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law) has posted Recentering Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction (UCLA Law Review, Vol. 63, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The boundaries of modern tribal criminal jurisdiction are defined...

"Highlighting who is using money to highlight (and try to change) prosecutors' impact on criminal justice and its reform"

Doug Berman has this post at Sentencing Law & Policy, linking to and excerpting an article in Politico. From Doug's introduction: This new Politico article highlights the role being a played by a notable political actor in funding efforts to...

Crofts on Accessories and Perpetrators

Penny Crofts (University of Technology Sydney, Faculty of Law) have posted The Identic Turn: The Culpability of Accessories and Perpetrators (33 Law Context: A Socio-Legal J. 37 (2015)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: John Saunders had a wife whom...

Hoshino & Kamada on Third-Party Policing of Organized Crime

Tetsuya Hoshino and Takuma Kamada (Pennsylvania State University and Tohoku University - Department of Behavioral Science) have posted Third-Party Policing of Organized Crime: Evidence from the Yakuza on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Does increased enforcement deter criminal organizations from...

"Five Chicago Officers Face Firing Over Slaying of Black Teen"

From The New York Times: The shooting made headlines across the country and sparked protests after the release of a dashboard video more than a year after the incident. The video shows the officer continued to fire after McDonald, 17,...

"'Serial' should release Bergdahl interviews"

Jeffrey Bellin (William & Mary Law) has this interesting column in USA Today. In part: A media “dream team” - including organizations from Fox to NPR - has intervened. These organizations want a court to rule that “reporter's privilege” blocks...

Mungan on Gateway Crimes

Murat C. Mungan (George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School, Faculty) has posted Gateway Crimes on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Many who argue against the legalization of marijuana suggest that while its consumption may not be very harmful,...

Sanders on Confrontation as a Sentencing Right

Shaakirrah Sanders (University of Idaho - College of Law) has posted The Value of Confrontation as a Felony Sentencing Right (Widener Law Journal, Vol. 25, No. 103, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article advocates recognition of the...

"Frustration yields to joy as DNA evidence springs Tony Wright after 25 years in prison"

From WHYY in Philadelphia. In part: After convincing a judge to order DNA tests of a Chicago Bulls sweatshirt and the blue jeans he allegedly wore during a 1991 rape and murder, Wright was granted a new trial, and the...

"The pursuit of capital punishment for Dylann Roof is a step backward"

From the Washington Post, courtesy of NACDL: Roof's crime was surely heinous, and his racism was repugnant. But supporters of racial equality and equal treatment under the law should support Roof's offer to plead guilty and serve a sentence of...

Lyman on Pierce & Radelet on Race, Homicides, and Prosecutions

Tim Lyman (Northeastern University, Institute for Security and Public Policy at the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice) has posted About Race and Aggravators in East Baton Rouge Parish Murder Cases on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Are Black-on-White (BkW)...

"Ohio top court rules prior juvenile charges cannot be used to increase sentences"

The story is at Jurist: JURIST - Ohio top court rules prior juvenile charges cannot be used to increase sentences The Ohio Supreme Court [official website]ruled [opinion, PDF] Thursday that courts cannot use prior juvenile charges to enhance the sentence...

Fordham's Criminal Law Speaker Series 2016

The theme is "Constructing Truth: Criminal Law in Flux." The program is part of a seminar available to Fordham Law students to promote further exploration of topics beyond first year courses but others may attend by permission: contact person is...

Pei on Criminal Reconciliation in China

Wei Pei (Beihang University (BUAA)) has posted Harmony, Law and Criminal Reconciliation in China: A Historical Perspective (Erasmus Law Review, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In 2012, China revised its Criminal Procedure Law (2012...

"Judge's Sentencing in Massachusetts Sexual Assault Case Reignites Debate on Privilege"

From The New York Times: The two women were asleep on a bed after drinking at a party when they were sexually assaulted. A high school athlete pleaded guilty to indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 in...

"Where the Death Penalty Still Lives"

From The New York Times Magazine: Twenty states and the District of Columbia have abolished capital punishment. Four more have imposed a moratorium on executions. Of the 26 remaining states, only 14 handed down any death sentences last year, for...

Quinn on Post-Ferguson Social Engineering

Mae C. Quinn (MacArthur Justice Center at St. Louis) has posted Post-Ferguson Social Engineering: Problem-Solving Justice or Just Posturing? (Howard Law Journal, 2016 Vol. 59 No. 3) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This essay - published on the second...

Goldbach on Sentencing Circles

Toby S. Goldbach has posted Instrumentalizing the Expressive: Transplanting Sentencing Circles into the Canadian Criminal Trial (Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems, Vol. 25, 2015) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article examines reforms to criminal sentencing procedures in Canada,...

Kim on Rights

Andrew Chongseh Kim (Concordia University School of Law) has posted When the Apocalypse Comes, Will Anything Change?: Gay Marriage, Black Lives Matter, and The Rule of Law (Savannah Law Review, Vol. 3:1, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: When...

"Civil rights group releases scorecard on police body camera policies"

From Jurist: The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and data analysis company Upturn [official websites] released the Body Worn Cameras Scorecard [statistical report] on Saturday, a report which concluded that the policies concerning civil rights and the use...

Thompson on Zero Tolerance in Schools

Jeremy L Thompson has posted Eliminating Zero Tolerance Policies in Schools: Miami-Dade Public School's Approach (Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal, Vol. 2016, No. 2, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The United States has the highest prison...

Skibine on Indians, Race, and Criminal Jurisdiction

Alexander Tallchief Skibine (University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law) has posted Indians, Race, and Criminal Jurisdiction in Indian Country (Albany Government Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: With the possible exception of the Indian...

Eaglin on The Drug Court Paradigm

Jessica Eaglin (Indiana University Maurer School of Law) has posted The Drug Court Paradigm (American Criminal Law Review, Vol. 53, No. 595, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Drug courts are specialized, problem-oriented diversion programs. Qualifying offenders receive treatment...

Bierschbach & Bibas on Sentencing Equality

Richard A. Bierschbach and Stephanos Bibas (Yeshiva University - Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and University of Pennsylvania Law School) have posted What's Wrong With Sentencing Equality? (Virginia Law Review, Vol. 102, No. 6, 2016) on SSRN. Here is...

"Michigan moves slowly to fix shoddy indigent defense"

From NACDL, this op-ed in The Detroit Free Press: There's a lot to unpack around the pernicious incompetence that sent Davontae Sanford to jail for a murder he clearly didn't commit. And the blame for the injustice Sanford endured gets...

Yung on Title IX and Campus Sexual Assaults

Corey Rayburn Yung (University of Kansas School of Law) has posted Is Relying on Title IX a Mistake? (Kansas Law Review, Vol. 64, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article attempts to answer an essential question related to...

Wheatle on The Homosexual Advance Defence

Se-shauna Wheatle (Durham Law School) has posted The Constitutionality of the 'Homosexual Advance Defence' in the Commonwealth Caribbean ((2016) 16 Equal Rights Review 38) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Defences to homicide have often been characterised as “concessions to...

Kerr on Legislation and Fourth Amendment Interpretation

Orin S. Kerr (The George Washington University Law School) has posted The Effect of Legislation on Fourth Amendment Interpretation (Michigan Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article addresses a recurring question that has divided courts: When...

Tuerkheimer on Criminal Justice for All

Deborah Tuerkheimer (Northwestern University - Pritzker School of Law) has posted Criminal Justice for All (Journal of Legal Education, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: It is not hyperbolic to assert that our criminal justice system is in crisis....

Ponsford on The Lawful Access Fallacy

Matthew P. Ponsford (McGill University, Faculty of Law, Students) has posted The Lawful Access Fallacy: Voluntary Warrantless Disclosures, Customer Privacy, and Government Requests for Subscriber Information (Canadian Journal of Law & Technology, 2016, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:...

Unmaking a Murderer

From The Wrongful Convictions Blog: On Friday, August 12, 2016, U.S. Magistrate Judge William E. Duffin overturned the conviction of Brendan Dassey, one of the defendants highlighted in the documentary 'Making A Murderer.' The judge has given the state 90...

Cook on Police Reform and the Judicial Mandate

Julian A. Cook (University of Georgia Law School) has posted Police Reform and the Judicial Mandate (50 Georgia Law Review Online (2016)) In response to a crisis that threatens his tenure as Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel announced in December...

Kim & Lemmens on Assisted Dying for Psychiatric Disorders

Scott Y. Kim and Trudo Lemmens (National Institutes of Health and University of Toronto - Faculty of Law) have posted Should Assisted Dying for Psychiatric Disorders Be Legalized in Canada? (Canadian Medical Association Journal CMAJ, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is...

Goldman on State Law and Police Reform

Roger L. Goldman (Saint Louis University - School of Law) has posted Importance of State Law in Police Reform (Saint Louis University Law Journal, Vol. 60, No. 363, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Most articles on police reform...

Franks on Men, Women, and Optimal Violence

Mary Anne Franks (University of Miami School of Law) has posted Men, Women, and Optimal Violence (University of Illinois Law Review, Vol. 2016, No. 3, 929) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: While both men and women can, and do,...

"Gay and Transgender Egyptians, Harassed and Entrapped, Are Driven Underground"

From The New York Times. In part: There is no law in Egypt specifically banning homosexual acts, so gay and transgender people are charged with “habitual debauchery” under a 1961 law that is used to prosecute men for homosexuality and...

Lloyd on Cognitive Emotion and the Law

Harold Anthony Lloyd (Wake Forest University School of Law) has posted Cognitive Emotion and the Law on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Many wrongly believe that emotion plays little or no role in legal reasoning. Unfortunately, Langdell and his “scientific”...

"No “strict liability” for soliciting minor online for sex, if minor claimed she was above the age of consent"

Eugene Volokh excerpts and discusses this interesting recent case at The Volokh Conspiracy. In part, from the excerpt: [T]he child-solicitation statute imposes an unreasonable duty on defendants to ascertain the relevant facts. In cases where the defendant encounters the victim...

Perlin on Representing Impaired Clients in Treatment Courts

Michael L. Perlin (New York Law School) has posted Representing Clients with Mental Health and/or Cognitive Impairments in Treatment Courts on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This white paper, prepared for the American University School of Public Affairs' Justice Programs...

"The recording that undid the Chandra Levy murder case"

NACDL links to this article from The Washington Post. In part: But the one thing Morales did not say during the seven-hour recording: that he lied on the witness stand and sent an innocent man to prison in the case...

Bakhturina et al. on Sentences and Events Unrelated to Crime

Evelina Bakhturina, Nora Barry, Laura Buchanan and Daniel L. Chen (New York University (NYU) - Center for Data Science, Center for Data Science, NYU, New York University (NYU) - Center for Data Science and Toulouse School of Economics / The...

Chin & Dallen on Scientific Evidence

Jason Michael Chin and Scott Dallen (University of Toronto - Faculty of Law and University of Toronto - Faculty of Law) have posted R v Awer and the Dangers of Science in Sheep's Clothing (Criminal Law Quarterly, Forthcoming) on SSRN....

"Chicago Releases Clip of Police Shooting "

From The New York Times: Officials released footage on Friday of the moments before a deadly police shooting of 18-year-old Paul O'Neal in Chicago last week. The video shows police firing into an allegedly stolen car.

Krasnostein & Freiberg on Sentencing Guideline Schemes

Sarah Krasnostein and Arie Freiberg (Monash University - Faculty of Law and Monash University - Faculty of Law) have posted Sentencing Guideline Schemes Across the United States and Beyond (Oxford Handbooks Online; Criminology & Criminal Justice, Oxford University Press) on...

"Frustrated state public defender appoints Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon to represent indigent defendant"

NACDL links to this piece in The Washington Post. In part: Barrett and his staff say they need a $23.1 million budget increase to adequately represent the state's indigent clients. Nixon recommended $1 million. Here's the letter. Keep in mind...

"'Guilty But Mentally Ill' Doesn't Protect Against Harsh Sentences"

From NPR. In part: But jurors also hesitate to choose a guilty verdict for someone with mental illness. So many states offer a third verdict: guilty but mentally ill. Several states introduced the verdict after John Hinckley, Jr., was found...

Kay on A DNA Evidence Case Study

David H. Kaye (Pennsylvania State University, Penn State Law) has posted The Interpretation of DNA Evidence: A Case Study in Probabilities on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This educational module on DNA evidence commissioned by a committee of the National...

"No, the police can't pull over drivers to give them gifts"

Orin Kerr has this post at The Volokh Conspiracy, including a link to a video of such a stop: I don't doubt that these programs are well-intentioned, and I commend the police for their instincts to help. It's especially great...

"Reviewing disconcerting realities when kids are put on sex offender registries"

Doug Berman has this post at Sentencing Law & Policy, excerpting an interesting recent commentary that states In about 40 states, juveniles are listed on sex offender registries, often for their entire lives. In about 19 states, there is no...

Woods on LGBT Identity and Crime

Jordan Blair Woods (University of Arkansas - School of Law) has posted LGBT Identity and Crime (California Law Review, 2017, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Recent studies report that LGBT adults and youth disproportionately face hardships that scholars...

Fox & Stein on Dualism and Doctrine

Dov Fox and Alex Stein (University of San Diego: School of Law and Yeshiva University - Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law) have posted Dualism and Doctrine (Philosophical Foundations of Law and Neuroscience 105-136 (Michael Pardo & Dennis Patterson ed.,...

Currie on Electronic Devices at the Border in Canada

Robert J. Currie (Dalhousie University - Schulich School of Law) has posted Electronic Devices at the Border: The Next Frontier of Canadian Search and Seizure Law? on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Over the last several years the Supreme Court...

"Spotlighting the travesty of how the Eleventh Circuit is handling Johnson claims"

Doug Berman has this post at Sentencing Law & Policy, excerpting a recent Bloomberg commentary by Noah Feldman. From the excerpt: In one of the last cases that he authored before he died in February, Justice Antonin Scalia convinced his...

Grewal on The Rule of Lenity in Tax Cases

Andy Grewal (University of Iowa - College of Law) has posted Why Lenity Has No Place in the Income Tax Laws (Missouri Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A controversy has emerged over how to interpret statutes...

"Australia PM proposes strict anti-terror legislation"

From Jurist: JURIST - Australia PM proposes strict anti-terror legislation Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull [official website] on Monday proposed new counter-terrorism legislation [press release] that would allow for indefinite detention. Turnbull announced plans to introduce Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill...

Grosso et al. on Conversation Analysis of Voir Dire

Catherine M. Grosso, Barbara O'Brien, Abijah Taylor and Richard E. Lucas (Michigan State University College of Law, Michigan State University - College of Law, Michigan State University - College of Law and Michigan State University) have posted Examining Jurors: Using...

van der Wilt on Transnational and Internatiional Organised Crime

Harmen G. van der Wilt (University of Amsterdam - Faculty of Law) has posted Expanding Criminal Responsibility in Challenging Transnational and International Organised Crime (Groningen Journal of International Law, Vol. 4, No. I, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:...

Macfarlane on Utah v. Strieff's Impact

Katherine Macfarlane has posted Predicting Utah v. Strieff's Civil Rights Impact on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Supreme Court's recent Utah v. Strieff decision, which declined to apply the exclusionary rule to evidence seized as a result of an...

Brennan-Marquez on Private Searches and Big Data

Kiel Robert Brennan-Marquez has posted Private Searches in the Age of Big Data on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Dragnet surveillance is the bogeyman of Fourth Amendment law. But in today's world, much dragnet surveillance - particularly related to data...

Green on Prostitution

Stuart P. Green (Rutgers Law School) has posted What Counts as Prostitution? (Bergen Journal of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, Volume 4, Issue 1, Pp. 184-202, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: What counts, or should count, as prostitution?...

Kleck et al. on Gun Control and Violent Crime

Gary Kleck, Tomislav Victor Kovandzic and Jon Bellows (Florida State University College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Alabama at Birmingham - Department of Justice Sciences and 18th Judicial District of North Carolina) have posted Does Gun Control Reduce...

"Texas Governor announces Police Protection Act"

From Jurist: Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced[press release] on Monday that he plans to propose a law providing for additional punishment for crimes against law enforcement officers. The proposed Police Protection Act (PPA) would extend hate crime protections to law...

"Calling 911 from a phone to obtain its number does not 'search' it, court rules"

Orin Kerr has this post at The Volokh Conspiracy. In part: I don't think that reasoning works, as it's mixing up two different questions: (1) whether calling from the phone is a search of the phone, and (2) whether, once...

Plesnicar on Why People Stop Offending

Mojca Mihelj Plesničar (Institute of Criminology at Ljubljana Faculty of Law) has posted Why Do People Stop Offending? Recent Theories on Desistance and Their Value in Practical Approaches to Offenders (Zbornik znanstvenih razprav, 75 (2015), pp. 191-212) on SSRN. Here...

"Federal appeals court rules Microsoft may protect customers' e-mails"

From Jurist: JURIST - Federal appeals court rules Microsoft may protect customers' e-mails The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Thursday that Microsoft [corporate website] is not required to hand over customers' e-mails...

Aldape et al. on Rethinking "Death Row"

Celina Aldape, Ryan Cooper, Katherine Haas, Xionan April Hu, Jessica Hunter, Shelle Shimizu, Johanna Kalb and Judith Resnik (Yale University, Law School, Students, Yale University, Law School, Students, Yale University, Law School, Students, Yale University, Law School, Students, Yale University,...

Zhao on Sorcery Crimes in China

Xiaohuan Zhao (University of Sydney, Department of Chinese Studies) has posted Sorcery Crimes, Laws, and Judicial Practice in Traditional China (Australian Journal of Asian Law, Vol. 17, No. 1, Article 1, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Wugu is...

Jain on Prosecuting Collateral Consequences

Eisha Jain (University of North Carolina School of Law) has posted Prosecuting Collateral Consequences (Georgetown Law Journal, Vol. 104, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Criminal law scholars have long agreed that prosecutors wield vast and largely unreviewable discretion...

"One constitutional Brady doctrine, four different applications"

Jonathan Abel has this useful post at The Volokh Conspiracy. In part: Brady governs all criminal trials, state and federal, and federal constitutional law trumps all state laws to the contrary. Nonetheless, in some jurisdictions, state laws and local policies...

Hessick on Refining Child Pornography Law

Carissa Byrne Hessick (University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill - School of Law) has posted Introduction: Refining Child Pornography Law: Crime, Language, and Social Consequences (Michigan Univ. Press 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This is a...

"Reducing police abuses by reducing the number of hostile interactions between police and civilians"

Ilya Somin has this post at The Volokh Conspiracy, extensively excerpting an October column from the New York Times in which Harvard economist Sendhil Mullainathan explained reasons other than racism to explain police killings of African-Americans. Much of the post...

Dimock on Criminalizing Dangerousness

Susan Dimock (York University) has posted Criminalizing Dangerousness: How to Preventively Detain Dangerous Offenders (Criminal Law and Philosophy, September 2015, Volume 9, Issue 3, pp 537-560) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: I defend a form of preventive detention through...

"Germany adopts law expanding the definition of sex crimes"

From Jurist: The German parliament [official website] unanimously passed a law [law, PDF, german] Thursday expanding the definition of sex crimes, making any form of nonsensical sexual contact a crime. The new "no means no" law [Reuters report] protects victims...

"Bill Cosby's Challenge to Criminal Case Fails"

From The New York Times: Until recently in Pennsylvania, a witness like Ms. Constand would have had to testify at a preliminary hearing. But a state appellate court ruling last year allowed for wider use of hearsay evidence, meaning that...

Husak on Legality and Legal Moralism

Douglas Husak (Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Department of Philosophy) has posted What's Legal About Legal Moralism? on SSRN. Here is the abstract: If legal moralism posits a normative connection between culpable wrongdoing and punishment, what should...

Lerman on Sentencing Drug Couriers

Kevin E. Lerman has posted Couriers Not Kingpins: Toward a More Just Federal Sentencing Regime for Defendants Who Deliver Drugs (6 UC Irvine L. Rev. (2017 Forthcoming)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: After decades of tweaking and modification, the...

"Is the Supreme Court Clueless About Corruption? Ask Jack Abramoff"

From The New York Times: To many observers, the court essentially said that a politician can be found guilty of corruption only if the government can definitively show an official “quo” in response to a benefactor's “quid” - a very...

"Canada Supreme Court overturns drug charges due to trial delay"

From Jurist: The Supreme Court of Canada [official website] on Thursday overturned [decision] a man's drug possession and trafficking conviction because he had been made to wait too long for his trial. The man, Shane Vassal, had waited three years...

"Serial's Adnan Syed to Receive New Trial"

From Baltimore Magazine: In issuing the decision, Welch cited deficiencies in Syed's legal defense as the reason for the new trial, saying his attorney, "rendered ineffective assistance when she failed to cross-examine the state's expert regarding the reliability of cell...

Galbally on Regulation of the Canadian Sex Industry

Phoebe Joan Galbally (University of Melbourne, Law School, Students) has posted Playing the Victim: A Critical Analysis of Canada's Bill C-36 from an International Human Rights Perspective (Melbourne Journal of International Law, Vol. 17, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the...

Buckingham on Trauma Informed Juvenile Justice

Samantha Buckingham (Loyola Law School - Center for Juvenile Law and Policy) has posted Trauma Informed Juvenile Justice (53 American Criminal Law Review 641 (2016)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The juvenile justice system fails to account for the...

"Edward Snowden Criticizes 'Big Brother' Measure in Russia"

From The New York Times: “Mass surveillance doesn't work,” Mr. Snowden wrote. “This bill will take money and liberty without improving safety.” Rights activists have protested several elements of the bill, especially a provision making it a crime to fail...

Robbins on Citizen's Arrest

Ira P. Robbins (American University - Washington College of Law) has posted Vilifying the Vigilante: A Narrowed Scope of Citizen's Arrest (Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy, Vol. 25, No. 3, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The...

Opinion holding reckless assault sufficient to preclude legal gun possession

Justice Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court in Voisine v. United States. Justice Thomas, joined in part by Justice Ginsburg, dissented.

Opinion holding reckless assault sufficient to preclude legal gun possession

Justice Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court in Voisine v. United States. Justice Thomas, joined in part by Justice Ginsburg, dissented.

"White House announces series of measures for incarcerated individuals"

From Jurist: The White House [official website] announced [press release] on Friday a series of programs aimed at ensuring that former prisoners have better resources to transition back into the community. The administration said that improving education and job opportunities...

"Arkansas Supreme Court upholds lethal injection protocol and secrecy law"

From Jurist: The Arkansas Supreme Court [official website] upheld [opinion, PDF] a state law Thursday that allows for the type, manufacturers and sellers of drugs used for lethal injections to be kept confidential. This ruling would allow the execution of...

Agan & Starr on Employment and Criminal Records

Amanda Y. Agan and Sonja B. Starr (Princeton University - Department of Economics and University of Michigan Law School) have posted Ban the Box, Criminal Records, and Statistical Discrimination: A Field Experiment on SSRN. Here is the abstract: “Ban-the-Box” (BTB)...

"Lawsuit accuses Louisiana judge of running debtors' prison"

From Jurist: A lawsuit [complaint, PDF] is accusing a Louisiana judge of running a modern-day debtors' prison. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center [advocacy website], alleges that Judge Robert Black is sending poor defendants to jail...

Walters & Tumath on Rape as Hate Crime

Mark Walters and Jessica Tumath (University of Sussex Law School and University of Sussex) have posted Gender 'Hostility', Rape, and the Hate Crime Paradigm (Modern Law Review, Vol. 77(4), pp. 563-596, 2014) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article...

Levin on Crespo on Systemic Facts

Benjamin Levin has posted Values and Assumptions in Criminal Adjudication (Harvard Law Review Forum (2016)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Response to Andrew Manuel Crespo's Systemic Facts: Toward Institutional Awareness in Criminal Courts proceeds in two Parts. In...

Bradford et al. on Public Acceptance of Police Violence

Ben Bradford , Jenna Milani and Jonathan Jackson (University of Oxford - Centre for Criminology , University of Oxford - Centre for Criminology and London School of Economics & Political Science - Department of Methodology) have posted Identity, Legitimacy and...

"Martin Winterkorn, Ex-C.E.O. of Volkswagen, Is Under Investigation"

From The New York Times: FRANKFURT - The investigation into Volkswagen's vast emissions scandalreached the top echelon of management for the first time after German prosecutors said on Monday that they were looking into the carmaker's former chief executive and...

"Virginia prosecutors join challenge to restoration of felon voting rights"

From Jurist: More than 40 prosecutors in Virginia filed an amicus brief [text, PDF] Friday in support of a challenge to the governor's executive action[JURIST report] to restore voting rights to more than 200,000 felons individuals in the state. The...

Ryan on Dignity and the Eighth Amendment

Meghan J. Ryan (Southern Methodist University - Dedman School of Law) has posted Taking Dignity Seriously: Excavating the Backdrop of the Eighth Amendment (University of Illinois Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The U.S. punishment system is...

Binder on Application of Criminal Law to Disasters

Denis Binder (Chapman University, The Dale E. Fowler School of Law) has posted The Application of Criminal Law to Disasters and Tragedies in Asia and the Pacific Islands on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The New Millennium has witnessed a...

"Making the case that Congress should, at the very least, make the Fair Sentencing Act fully retroactive"

Doug Berman at Sentencing Law & Policy links to and excerpts this commentary from The Huffington Post. In part: For 4,900 people serving sentences Congress itself deemed unfair, members of the Senate and House need not wait a day longer....

Moore on The Antidemocratic Sixth Amendment

Janet Moore (University of Cincinnati College of Law) has posted The Antidemocratic Sixth Amendment (Washington Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Criminal procedure experts often claim that poor people have no Sixth Amendment right to choose their...

"Why our emotional reactions to terrorist attacks and other tragedies are a poor guide to policy"

Ilya Somin has this post at The Volokh Conspiracy. In part: First, much of the public is ignorant about public policy issues, and forms opinions without serious consideration of the evidence. Such ignorance is not necessarily a sign of stupidity...

Mungan on Salience and the Severity Versus the Certainty of Punishment

Murat C. Mungan (George Mason University School of Law) has posted Salience and the Severity Versus the Certainty of Punishment on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The certainty aversion presumption (CAP) in the economics of law enforcement literature asserts that...

"Virginia felon voting rights challenged"

From Jurist: Judicial Watch [advocacy website] filed alawsuit [complaint; press release] Tuesday challenging an executive order by VirginiaGovernor Terry McAuliffe [official website] restoring the voting rights of certain felons. McAuliffe signed an executive order in Aprilrestoring the voting rights [JURIST...

"Omar Mateen's Wife Under Scrutiny by F.B.I., Official Says"

From The New York Times: The wife, Noor Zahi Salman, told the F.B.I. that she had driven him to the Pulse nightclub at some point before the attack and that she had also been with him when he purchased ammunition,...

"Michigan Senate passes bill compensating the exonerated for wrongful imprisonment"

From Jurist: The Michigan Senate [official website] on Thursday passed a bill (SB 291) [text, PDF] that would compensate people who were wrongfully convicted of crimes once they are exonerated[Daily Tribune report]. SB 291, also known as the Wrongful Imprisonment...

Documents in Stanford sexual assault case

An article in The New York Times includes links to the probation department's recommendation and a sentencing memo filed by the district attorney.

"Michael Hubbard, Alabama House Speaker, Is Convicted on 12 Felony Ethics Charges"

From The New York Times. In part: Michael G. Hubbard, the speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives, whose sharp-elbowed approach to politics propelled the Republican Party to dominance in his state, was convicted Friday on 12 felony ethics charges,...

"It's not a Fourth Amendment search if a cop swipes your credit card, court finds"

From arstechnica, courtesy of NACDL news scan. In part: A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that law enforcement can legally scan or swipe a seized credit card-in fact, it is not a Fourth Amendment search at all, so it doesn't...

Jackson & Kovalev on Lay Adjudication in Europe

John D. Jackson and Nikolai Kovalev (University of Nottingham - School of Law and Wilfrid Laurier University, Department of Criminology) have posted Lay Adjudication in Europe: The Rise and Fall of the Traditional Jury (Oñati Socio-Legal Series, Vol. 6, No....

"Stern on liberals, sexual violence, and the justice system"

Howard Wasserman at PrawfsBlawg describes a post by Mark Joseph Stern at Slate: He ties the recall petition to a host of issues in which progressive commitment to due process, basic defendant rights, and judicial independence have run aground in...

Hough et al. on Policing, Procedural Justice, and Prevention

Mike Hough , Jonathan Jackson and Ben Bradford (University of London - Institute for Criminal Policy Research , London School of Economics & Political Science - Department of Methodology and University of Oxford - Centre for Criminology) have posted Policing,...

"Stakes Rise for Prosecutors Trying Officer in Freddie Gray Case for Murder"

From The New York Times: “These are the most serious charges,” said Warren S. Alperstein, a defense lawyer here who has represented police officers and has been closely following the cases but is not directly involved in them. “This is,...

Goodman-Delahunty et al. on Reducing Jury Bias in Child Sexual Abuse Cases

Jane Goodman-Delahunty , Natalie Martschuk and Annie Cossins (Charles Sturt University - Australian Graduate School of Policing , Charles Sturt University and University of New South Wales (UNSW) - Faculty of Law) have posted Programmatic Pretest-Posttest Research to Reduce Jury...

"Violation of knock-and-announce on a 6 am arrest warrant execution leads to suppression despite Hudson"

FourthAmendment.com excerpts United States v. Vasquez, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71856 (D.Conn. June 2, 2016), notable "because seldom can a court get around Hudson." From the opinion: Further, I emphasize that the determinative circumstances in this case were not the...

"Looking into the Wisconsin case looking into the use of risk-assessment tools at sentencing"

Doug Berman at Sentencing Law & Policy links to and excerpts this article from The Wall Street Journal. In part: Algorithms used by authorities to predict the likelihood of criminal conduct are facing a major legal test in Wisconsin. The...

Curtis on The School-to-Prison Pipeline

Aaron J. Curtis has posted Tracing the School-to-Prison Pipeline from Zero-Tolerance Policies to Juvenile Justice Dispositions (Georgetown Law Journal, Vol. 102, No. 4, 2014) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In recent years, schools have attempted to combat school violence...

"Why the muted response to seeking the death penalty for Dylann Roof?"

This opinion piece appears in The Washington Post. In part: [T]he Obama administration, perhaps the least favorable to capital punishment in recent memory, might not have sought the death penalty against Dylann Roof, the young white supremacist charged in the...

"Conservatives should celebrate Obama's commutations"

Sentencing Law and Policy links to and excerpts this commentary. In part: Consider the case of Weldon Angelos, who at age 24 was arrested in Utah for selling marijuana and possessing a firearm. Because of stacked charges with mandatory minimums,...

Gallini on The Public-Safety Exception to Miranda

Brian Gallini (University of Arkansas - School of Law) has posted The Unlikely Meeting between Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Benjamin Quarles (Case Western Reserve Law Review, Vol. 66, No. 2, 2015) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Everyone reads New York...

"Feds say no civil rights prosecution in Jamar Clark's death"

From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Federal authorities said Wednesday that they would not pursue civil rights charges against two Minneapolis police officers in the shooting death of Jamar Clark, a decision met with both outrage and resignation by activists who for...

Wrongful Convictions of Sexual Assault

A press release from the Center for Prosecutor Integrity announces a new program to curb such convictions: [T]he Center for Prosecutor Integrity is launching a new initiative designed to address the over-criminalization of sexual conduct and to end wrongful convictions...

Newton on Federal Probation

Brent Evan Newton has posted The Story of Federal Probation (American Criminal Law Review, Vol. 53, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Critics of the modern federal sentencing system regularly assert that the sentencing guidelines promulgated by the United...

Lai on Proxy Criminalization

Annie Lai (University of California, Irvine School of Law) has posted Confronting Proxy Criminalization (Denver University Law Review, Vol. 92, No. 4, 2015) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Though state laws that directly criminalize unlawful presence have been struck...

"Cincinnati gorilla incident: Police investigating boy's family"

From CNN.com: The family of a boy who entered a Cincinnati Zoo gorilla's enclosure last weekend -- spurring zoo officials to shoot and kill the animal -- will be the focus of an investigation into the incident, Cincinnati police said...

Skolnik on Reasonable Suspicion in Canada

Terry Skolnik (University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, Students) has posted The Suspicious Distinction between Reasonable Suspicion and Reasonable Grounds to Believe (Ottawa Law Review, Vol. 47, No. 1, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Canadian Criminal law distinguishes...

Leasure & Andersen on Certificates of Recovery

Peter Leasure and Tia Stevens Andersen (University of South Carolina and University of South Carolina) have posted An Experimental Study of the Effectiveness of Certificates of Recovery as Collateral Consequence Relief Mechanisms on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Securing stable,...

"Judge temporarily suspends extradition of "El Chapo" to US"

From Jurist: A Mexican judge granted a temporary suspension [El Mundo report, in Spanish] on the extradition of Joaquín "el Chapo" Guzmán to the US on Saturday. The decision comes after Guzmán's lawyers filed [El Pais report, in Spanish] an...

"Will Overreach Kill Mens Rea Reform?"

Kent Scheidegger has this post at Crime & Consequences. In part: Yet neither the House bill nor the Senate bill includes recklessness in its defaultmens rea provision. The Senate bill (S. 2298) requires "willfully" and the House bill (H.R. 4002)...

"Iowa top court rules juveniles cannot be given life without parole"

From Jurist: The Iowa Supreme Court [official website] on Friday ruled [opinion, PDF] that juvenile convicted of first-degree murder may not be sentenced to life without parole. The court reasoned that sentencing a juvenile to life without parole was cruel...

"Why Amnesty International Is Calling for Decriminalizing Sex Work"

From The New York Times: It's official: On Wednesday night, Amnesty International released its long-awaited policy on an incredibly contentious issue, calling on governments around the world to “decriminalize consensual sex work.” Amnesty also wants countries to “include sex workers...

"Dylann Roof Will Face Federal Death Penalty in Charleston Church Killings"

From The New York Times. In part: In a separate seven-page filing in Federal District Court in Charleston, prosecutors cited nine aggravating factors, including that Mr. Roof had “expressed hatred and contempt towards African-Americans, as well as other groups, and...

"Striking Move by Brooklyn Judge in Felony Drug Case: Probation, Not Prison"

From The New York Times: A federal judge in Brooklyn, in an extraordinary opinion that calls for courts to pay closer attention to the impact of felony convictions on people's lives, sentenced a young woman in a drug case to...

Cramer on Texas' Stand Your Ground Law

Clayton E. Cramer (College of Western Idaho) has posted Texas' Stand Your Ground Law: An Historical Perspective (Presenting at Texas Bar Association, September 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In the aftermath of the Treyvon Martin shooting in Florida,...

"Louisiana Enacts Hate Crimes Law to Protect a New Group: Police"

From The New York Times: Hate crime statutes originated as a response to bigotry, a special penalty for singling people out for abuse based on factors like race, ethnicity, sex, religion, sexual orientation or, most recently, gender identity. On Thursday,...

Davis on Multijurisdictional Enforcement Games

Kevin E. Davis (New York University School of Law) has posted Multijurisdictional Enforcement Games (The Research Handbook on Corporate Crime and Financial Misdealing, Jennifer Arlen ed., Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Economic analyses of law enforcement generally focus...

Slobogin on Policing as Administration

Christopher Slobogin (Vanderbilt University - Law School) has posted Policing as Administration (University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Vol. 165, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Police agencies should be governed by the same administrative principles that govern other agencies....

Moran on The Internal Affairs Farce

Rachel Moran (University of Denver Sturm College of Law) has posted Ending the Internal Affairs Farce (64 Buff. L. Rev. ___ (Aug. 2016 Forthcoming)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Police misconduct has received a heightened degree of media attention...

Brown et al. on Empiricism and Psychopaths

Teneille R. Brown , Jim Tabery and Lisa Aspinwall (University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law , University of Utah - Department of Philosophy and University of Utah) have posted Understanding Validity in Empirical Legal Research: The Case...

Carvalho on Liberty and Insecurity

Henrique Carvalho (University of Warwick - School of Law) has posted Liberty and Insecurity in the Criminal Law: Lessons from Thomas Hobbes (Criminal Law and Philosophy (Online First), 2015) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In this paper, I provide...

Havelkova on Prostitution

Barbara Havelkova (University of Oxford - Faculty of Law) has posted Blaming All Women: On Regulation of Prostitution in State Socialist Czechoslovakia ((2016) 36 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 165) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The article explores how...

Ferguson on Predictive Prosecution

Andrew Guthrie Ferguson (University of the District of Columbia - David A. Clarke School of Law) has posted Predictive Prosecution (Wake Forest Law Review, Symposium 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Police in major metropolitan areas now use “predictive...

SMU seeks director for criminal justice reform center

The SMU Dedman School of Law is seeking a full-time Director to establish and operate its new Deason Family Criminal Justice Reform Center. This is a full-time position. The initial contract term is one year, renewable for additional one to...

"American Law Institute rejects affirmative consent standard in defining sexual assault"

This story appears in The Washington Times. The ALI website says: After an extensive discussion, membership approved an amended version of Subsection 213.0(3) (definition of consent), presented by motion. There was insufficient time to discuss Section 213.2.

Gruber, Cohen & Mogulescu on Human Trafficking Intervention Courts

Aya Gruber , Amy J. Cohen and Kate Mogulescu (University of Colorado Law School , Ohio State University (OSU) - Michael E. Moritz College of Law and The Legal Aid Society) have posted Penal Welfare and the New Human Trafficking...

A promising motion to fix the central problems with the ALI's sexual assault draft

With the ALI scheduled to begin discussion tomorrow on its sexual assault draft, seven ALI members--two advisors to the drafting process and five members of the Members Consultative Group--have prepared a motion that would remedy the draft's central problem. A...

DiBattista on Excessive Force

Michael S. DiBattista has posted A Force to Be Reckoned With: Confronting the (Still) Unresolved Questions of Excessive Force Jurisprudence After Kingsley (Columbia Human Rights Law Review, Vol. 48, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In Kingsley v. Hendrickson,...

Gupta et al. on High Bail

Arpit Gupta , Christopher Hansman and Ethan Frenchman (Columbia University - Columbia Business School , Columbia University, Barnard College - Department of Economics and Maryland Office of The Public Defender) have posted The Heavy Costs of High Bail: Evidence from...

Marcus et al. on Comparative Plea Bargaining

Paul Marcus , Carol A Brook , Bruno Fiannaca , David John Harvey , Jenny McEwan and Renee Pomerance (William & Mary Law School , Government of the United States of America - U.S. District Court for the Northern District...

Fan on Police Body Cameras

Mary D. Fan (University of Washington - School of Law) has posted two pieces on police body cameras. The first is Privacy, Public Disclosure, Police Body Cameras: Policy Splits (Alabama Law Review, Vol. 68, Forthcoming). Here is the abstract: When...

Bagaric & Alexander on Legality and Sentencing

Mirko Bagaric and Theo Alexander (Deakin University, Geelong, Australia - Deakin Law School and Deakin University, Geelong, Australia - Deakin Law School) has posted Addressing the Curious Blackspot that is the Separation between the Principle of Legality and Sentencing (Monash...

Horner & Ivacko on Local Officials and Law Enforcement

Debra Horner and Thomas M. Ivacko (University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy) have posted Most Local Officials...

Mens Rea and the ALI's Sexual Assault Draft

I previously argued that the ALI draft on sexual assault makes its intended point about the perils of coy sex while making an unintended point about the perils of coy legislation. In my view, the draft convincingly advocates for a...

Corrado on Retribution

Michael Louis Corrado (University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill - School of Law) has posted Chapter Two. Retribution and the Limits of Criminal Justice on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Those who claim that retributivism is a morally...

Chiao on Kleinfeld on Reconstructivism

Vincent Chiao (University of Toronto - Faculty of Law) has posted A Response to Professor Kleinfeld's 'Reconstructivism: The Place of Criminal Law in Ethical Life' (Harvard Law Review Forum, Vol. 129, p. 258, April 2016) on SSRN. Here is the...

Chow on Making Payments to China's Police

Daniel C. K. Chow (Ohio State University College of Law) has posted Why Multinational Companies Doing Business in China Fall into the Trap of Making Payments to China's Police (Richmond Journal of Global Law and Business (2016, Forthcoming)) on SSRN....

Morse on Law and the Sciences of the Brain/Mind

Stephen Morse (University of Pennsylvania Law School) has posted Law and the Sciences of the Brain/Mind (Oxford Handbook on Law and the Regulation of Technology, Oxford, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This chapter is a submission to the...

Capers on Race, Policing, and Technology

I. Bennett Capers (Brooklyn Law School) has posted Race, Policing, and Technology (North Carolina Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: I am a black man. So begins the essay, “Race, Policing, and Technology,” which makes an argument...

Anderson on Campus Sexual Assault

Michelle J. Anderson (CUNY School of Law) has posted Campus Sexual Assault Adjudication and Resistance to Reform (125 Yale Law Journal, 2016 (Forthcoming)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The forty-year history of rape law reform sheds light on current...

Gruber on Anti-Rape Culture

Aya Gruber (University of Colorado Law School) has posted Anti-Rape Culture (Kansas Law Review, Vol.64, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This essay, written for the Kansas Law Review Symposium on Campus Sexual Assault, critically analyzes “anti-rape culture” ―...

SpearIt on Muslim Hip Hop and Mass Incarceration

SpearIt (Texas Southern University - Thurgood Marshall School of Law) has posted Sonic Jihad - Muslim Hip Hop in the Age of Mass Incarceration (11 Florida Intl. L. Rev. 201 (2015)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This essay examines...

Joy & McMunigal on Researching Jurors' Presence on the Internet

Peter A. Joy and Kevin C. McMunigal (Washington University in Saint Louis - School of Law and Case Western Reserve University School of Law) have posted ABA Approves Researching Jurors' Public Presence on the Internet (Criminal Justice, Vol. 29, No....

Pascoe on Death Penalty Research in Closed Systems

Daniel Pascoe (City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) - School of Law) has posted Researching the Death Penalty in Closed or Partially-Closed Criminal Justice Systems (Mary Bosworth, Carolyn Hoyle and Lucia Zedner (eds) 2016, Changing Contours of Criminal Justice, Oxford...

Mayer & Patti on Confronting Political Disagreement About Sentencing

Seth Mayer and Italia Patti (Auburn University and West Virginia University College of Law) have posted Confronting Political Disagreement About Sentencing: A Deliberative Democratic Framework (New Criminal Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: There is broad agreement...

Hing on Disrupting Race-Based Policing

Bill Ong Hing (University of San Francisco - School of Law) has posted From Ferguson to Palestine: Disrupting Race-Based Policing (Howard Law Journal, Vol. 59, 2016 (Forthcoming)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Since Michael Brown's killing, “Ferguson” has become...

Berman on Montgomery v. Louisiana

Douglas A. Berman (Ohio State University (OSU) - Michael E. Moritz College of Law) has posted Montgomery's Messy Trifecta on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Montgomery v. Louisiana arrived at the Supreme Court at the intersection of three conceptually challenging...

Davis & Dudley on Families in Juvenile Defense Work after Miller v. Alabama

Peggy Cooper Davis and Richard G. Dudley (New York University Law School and Independent) have posted The Place of Families in Juvenile Defense Work after Miller v. Alabama (New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement, Spring 2013) on SSRN....

Court reverses sentence based on improper guideline range even though sentence fell within correct range

Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion for the Court in Molina-Martinez v. United States. Justice Alito, joined by Justice Thomas, filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment

Logan & Ferguson on Policing Criminal Justice Data

Wayne A. Logan and Andrew Guthrie Ferguson (Florida State University - College of Law and University of the District of Columbia - David A. Clarke School of Law) have posted Policing Criminal Justice Data (Minnesota Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN....

Ohlin on Criminal Law Casebooks

Jens David Ohlin (Cornell University - School of Law) has posted The Changing Market for Criminal Law Casebooks (Michigan Law Review, Vol. 114, No. 6, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In the following Review, I analyze the leading...

Kamin on Immigration, Marijuana Law Reform, and Prosecutorial Discretion

Sam Kamin (University of Denver Sturm College of Law) has posted Prosecutorial Discretion in the Context of Immigration and Marijuana Law Reform: The Search for a Limiting Principle (Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the...

Kohm & Haefner on Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Teen Courts

Lynne Marie Kohm and Alison R. Haefner (Regent University - School of Law and Regent University, School of Law, Students) have posted Empowering Love and Respect for Child Offenders Through Therapeutic Jurisprudence: The Teen Courts Example (Sociology and Anthropology 4(4):...

Miller on Puerto Rico and Double Jeopardy

Colin Miller (University of South Carolina School of Law) has posted Sovereign Impunity: Why Double Jeopardy Should Apply in Puerto Rico on SSRN. Here is the abstract: On January 13th, the United States heard oral arguments in Puerto Rico v....

Froestad & Shearing on Uncoupling Justice from Punishment

Jan Froestad and Clifford Shearing (Bergen University College and Griffith Institute of Criminology) have posted Re-Imagining Justice from the Bottom Up (In: Carnelley, M. & Hoctor, S. Eds. Law, Order and Liberty: Essays in Honour of Tony Matthews. Scottsville: University...

Picinali on Binary Verdicts and Theories of Punishment

Federico Picinali (London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE)) has posted Do Theories of Punishment Necessarily Deliver a Binary System of Verdicts? An Exploratory Essay on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Scholars writing on theories of punishment generally try...

Froestad et al. on Re-Imagining Security and Risk

Jan Froestad , Clifford Shearing and Melani Van der Merwe (Bergen University College , Griffith Institute of Criminology and University of Cape Town (UCT)) have posted Criminology: Re-Imagining Security and Risk (In: Bourbeau, P. Ed. Security: Dialogue across Disciplines. Cambridge:...

Baughman on Subconstitutional Checks

Shima Baradaran Baughman (University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law) has posted Subconstitutional Checks (Notre Dame Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Constitutional checks are an important part of the American justice system. The Constitution...

Mannheimer on The Two Mirandas

Michael Mannheimer (Northern Kentucky University - Salmon P. Chase College of Law) has posted The Two Mirandas on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Although the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Miranda v. Arizona purported to set forth a clear, bright-line...

McGorrery on Facebook and Eyewitness Identifications

Paul McGorrery (Deakin University, Geelong, Australia - Deakin Law School) has posted The Limited Impact of Facebook and the Displacement Effect on the Admissibility of Identification Evidence ((2015) 39(4) Crim LJ 207-218) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Eyewitness identification...

Leo on Redefining Innocence

Richard A. Leo (University of San Francisco - School of Law) has posted Has the Innocence Movement Become an Exoneration Movement? The Risks and Rewards of Redefining Innocence (Daniel Medwed, ed., Innocent Reflections: A Quarter Century of DNA Exonerations (Cambridge...

Petersilia on Realigning Corrections

Joan Petersilia (Stanford University) has posted Realigning Corrections, California Style (The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 664, March 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: California is currently implementing a prison downsizing experiment of...

Garrett & Stoughton on A Tactical Fourth Amendment

Brandon L. Garrett and Seth W. Stoughton (University of Virginia School of Law and University of South Carolina School of Law) have posted A Tactical Fourth Amendment (Virginia Law Review, Vol. 102, 2017, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:...

Greabe on Harmless Error

John Greabe (University of New Hampshire School of Law) has posted The Riddle of Harmless Error Revisited (Houston Law Review, Vol. 54, No. 1, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Half a century ago, in Chapman v. California, the...

Greabe on Harmless Error

John Greabe (University of New Hampshire School of Law) has posted The Riddle of Harmless Error Revisited (Houston Law Review, Vol. 54, No. 1, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Half a century ago, in Chapman v. California, the...

Berger on Deference and Glossip v. Gross

Eric Berger (University of Nebraska at Lincoln - College of Law) has posted Gross Error (Washington Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Glossip v. Gross epitomizes judicial deference gone berserk. In rejecting an Eighth Amendment challenge to...

Berger on Deference and Glossip v. Gross

Eric Berger (University of Nebraska at Lincoln - College of Law) has posted Gross Error (Washington Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Glossip v. Gross epitomizes judicial deference gone berserk. In rejecting an Eighth Amendment challenge to...

Case forbidding pretrial restraint of untainted assets needed to retain counsel

Justice Breyer announced the judgment of the Court in Luis v. United States in an opinion joined by the Chief Justice and Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor. Justice Thomas concurred in the judgment. Justice Kennedy filed a dissenting opinion joined by...

Case forbidding pretrial restraint of untainted assets needed to retain counsel

Justice Breyer announced the judgment of the Court in Luis v. United States in an opinion joined by the Chief Justice and Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor. Justice Thomas concurred in the judgment. Justice Kennedy filed a dissenting opinion joined by...

Puppe & Wright on Causation

Ingeborg Puppe and Richard W. Wright (University of Bonn - Department of Law and Illinois Institute of Technology - Chicago-Kent College of Law) have posted Causation in the Law: Philosophy, Doctrine and Practice (Forthcoming in The Common Core of European...

Puppe & Wright on Causation

Ingeborg Puppe and Richard W. Wright (University of Bonn - Department of Law and Illinois Institute of Technology - Chicago-Kent College of Law) have posted Causation in the Law: Philosophy, Doctrine and Practice (Forthcoming in The Common Core of European...

Murray on The Tyranny of Small Things

Yxta Maya Murray (Loyola Law School Los Angeles) has posted The Tyranny of Small Things (Michigan Journal of Race & Law, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This legal-literary essay recounts a day I spent watching criminal sentencings in...

Murray on The Tyranny of Small Things

Yxta Maya Murray (Loyola Law School Los Angeles) has posted The Tyranny of Small Things (Michigan Journal of Race & Law, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This legal-literary essay recounts a day I spent watching criminal sentencings in...

Sarma on Evolving Standards of Decency

Bidish Sarma (University of California, Berkeley School of Law) has posted How Hall V. Florida Transforms the Supreme Court's Eighth Amendment Evolving Standards of Decency Analysis (UCLA Law Review, Vol. 62, No. Discourse, 2014) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:...

Silver on Intent Reconceived

Jay Sterling Silver (St. Thomas University - School of Law) has posted Intent Reconceived (Iowa Law Review, Vol. 101, 2015) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This piece builds the foundation of a new paradigm in legal intent that advances...

Henderson on Property, Penality, and (Racial) Profiling

Taja-Nia Y. Henderson (Rutgers School of Law - Newark) has posted Property, Penality, and (Racial) Profiling (12 Stanford Journal of Civil Rights & Civil Liberties 177 (2016)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article historicizes societal associations of “blackness”...

Henderson & Ferguson on A Fourth Amendment for Constitutional Curmudgeons

Stephen E. Henderson and Andrew Guthrie Ferguson (University of Oklahoma College of Law and University of the District of Columbia - David A. Clarke School of Law) have posted LAWn Signs: A Fourth Amendment for Constitutional Curmudgeons (Ohio State Journal...

Ghappour on Law Enforcement Jurisdiction on the Dark Web

Ahmed Ghappour (UC Hastings College of the Law) has posted Searching Places Unknown: Law Enforcement Jurisdiction on the Dark Web on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The use of hacking tools by law enforcement to pursue criminal suspects who have...

Hadjikyprianou on Corporate Manslaughter

George C. Hadjikyprianou has posted Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007: A 'Cadmean Victory' or a Worthwhile Reform? (White Collar Crime Journal Vol 10, Issue 10, March 15, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: There is no doubt...

Wilt on Federal Corporate Criminal Prosecution Agreements

Michael Patrick Wilt has posted Who Watches the Watchmen? Accountability in Federal Corporate Criminal Prosecution Agreements (American Journal of Criminal Law, Vol. 43, Issue 1, 2016 (Forthcoming)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Department of Justice entered into hundreds...

The Continuing Saga of the ALI and Affirmative Consent

The advisory group to the ALI is meeting this week about the most recent revisions to the draft. I've posted on SSRN a short piece analyzing the most recent changes, Like Snow to the Eskimos and Trump to the Republican...

Bechtel et al. on Pretrial Decisions

Kristin Bechtel , Alexander Holsinger , Christopher T Lowenkamp and Madeline Warren (Crime and Justice Institute at Community Resources for Justice , University of Missouri - Kansas City , AO US Courts Probation and Pretrial Services Office and Johnson County...

Silbert et al. on The Costs of Wrongful Convictions, Error, and Failed Prosecutions

Rebecca Silbert , John Hollway and Darya Larizadeh (University of California, Berkeley , University of Pennsylvania Law School - Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice and University of California, Berkeley) have posted Criminal Injustice: A Cost Analysis of...

Robertson et al. on An Empirical Investigation of Quid Pro Quo Corruption

Christopher T. Robertson , D. Alex Winkelman , Kelly Bergstrand and Darren Modzelewski (University of Arizona - James E. Rogers College of Law , University of Arizona - James E. Rogers College of Law , University of Texas at Arlington...

Kaplan on Rape Beyond Crime

Margo Kaplan (Rutgers Law School) has posted Rape Beyond Crime (66 Duke Law Journal (2017)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Public health experts agree that sexual violence constitutes a significant public health issue. Yet criminal law dominates rape law...

Smith on The Privilege for Law Enforcement Techniques

Stephen W. Smith (Texas Southern University - Thurgood Marshall School of Law) has posted Policing Hoover's Ghost: The Privilege for Law Enforcement Techniques (American Criminal Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Various legal doctrines have been devised...

Levine on Prosecuting the Police

Kate Levine (New York University School of Law) has posted How We Prosecute the Police (Georgetown Law Journal, Vol. 104, 2016, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Police brutality is at the center of a growing national conversation on...

Wilkes on Habeas Corpus

Donald E. Wilkes Jr. (University of Georgia Law School) has posted The Great Writ in the Peach State: Georgia Habeas Corpus, 1865-1965 (Journal of Southern Legal History, Vol. 22, 2014) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: There is a plenitude...

Pillsbury on Homicides of Black Victims

Samuel H. Pillsbury (Loyola Law School Los Angeles) has posted Black Lives Matter: Reviewing Jill Leovy, Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America (Spiegel & Grau 2015) (Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the...

Vagle on Police Militarization, Race, and Algorithmic Surveillance

Jeffrey L. Vagle (University of Pennsylvania Law School) has posted Tightening the OODA Loop: Police Militarization, Race, and Algorithmic Surveillance on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article examines the role military automated surveillance and intelligence systems and techniques have...

Crump on Surveillance Policy Making by Procurement

Catherine Crump (UC Berkeley, School of Law) has posted Surveillance Policy Making by Procurement on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Seattle police obtained a surveillance drone with the approval of a city council that did not realize what it...

Brenig & Proeger on Putting a Price Tag on Security

Mattheus Brenig and Till Proeger (University of Goettingen (Gottingen) and University of Goettingen (Gottingen)) have posted Putting a Price Tag on Security: Subjective Well-Being and Willingness-to-Pay for Crime Reduction in Europe on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Using information on...

Blume & Vann on The Death Penalty in South Carolina

John H. Blume III and Lindsey S. Vann (Cornell University - Law School and Justice 360) have posted Forty Years of Death: The Past, Present, and Future of the Death Penalty in South Carolina (Or Still Arbitrary after All These...

MacLean et al. on Battered Women Under Duress

Jason MacLean , Nadia Verrelli and Lori Chambers (Lakehead University - Bora Laskin Faculty of Law , Laurentian University and Lakehead University) have posted Battered Women Under Duress: The Supreme Court of Canada's Abandonment of Context and Purpose in R....

Sigler on Punishment and the Limits of Evolutionary Analysis

Mary Sigler (Arizona State University - College of Law) has posted Punishment and the Limits of Evolutionary Analysis (Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, Vol. 13, No. 1, 2015) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This is a review essay...

Call for Papers: Theorizing Criminal Law Reform

The conference organized by Rutgers Law School, the London School of Economics Department of Law, and the Rutgers Institute for Law and Philosophy, will be held April 21-22, 2017, at Rutgers Law School, Newark. Abstracts are due by May 15,...

Sigler on Equity, Not Mercy

Mary Sigler (Arizona State University - College of Law) has posted Equity, Not Mercy (The New Philosophy of Criminal Law (Flanders & Hoskins, eds. 2016)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In a variety of criminal justice settings, the term...

Rosenberg & Rosenberg on American and Talmudic Criminal Law

Irene Merker Rosenberg and Yale L. Rosenberg (University of Houston, Law Center (deceased) and University of Houston, Law Center (deceased)) have written Comparative American and Talmudic Criminal Law, now posted on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Comparative American and Talmudic...

Tanovich on Rap Lyrics in Criminal Cases

David M. Tanovich (University of Windsor - Faculty of Law) has posted R v Campbell: Rethinking the Admissibility of Rap Lyrics in Criminal Cases ((2016) 24 Criminal Reports (7th) 27-43) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: R v Campbell is...

Zatz on Criminal Enforcement of Child Support Obligations

Noah Zatz (University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - School of Law) has posted A New Peonage?: Pay, Work, or Go to Jail in Contemporary Child Support Enforcement and Beyond (Seattle University Law Review, Vol. 39, No. 3, 2016) on...

Garvey on Authority, Freedom, and the Guilty Mind

Stephen P. Garvey (Cornell Law School) has posted Authority, Freedom, and the Guilty Mind on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Imagine an actor who commits a crime in thrall to a powerful desire. Think, for example, about those we call...

Johnson on Causation after Burrage

Eric Alan Johnson (University of Illinois College of Law) has posted Cause-in-Fact After Burrage v. United States (Florida Law Review, Vol. 68, 2016 Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: What significance, if any, should state courts assign to the...

Stenning & Shearing on Private Policing

Philip Stenning and Clifford Shearing (Griffith University and Griffith Institute of Criminology) have posted The Quiet Revolution: The Nature, Development and General Legal Implications of Private Policing in Canada (Criminal Law Quarterly, 22: 220-248) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:...

Terzian on The Fifth Amendment and Encryption

Dan Terzian has posted The Micro-Hornbook on the Fifth Amendment and Encryption (Georgetown Law Journal Online, 2016, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Micro-Hornbook objectively analyzes whether and how the government may compel you to provide access to...

Perlin & Lynch on Criminology, Scientific Discoveries and the Criminal Process

Michael L. Perlin and Alison J. Lynch (New York Law School and Disability Rights New York) have posted 'In the Wasteland of Your Mind': Criminology, Scientific Discoveries and the Criminal Process (Virginia Journal of Criminal Law, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here...

Patel on Crime in the Evolved Digital Age

Anar Patel (Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys' Advisory Council) has posted Crime in the Evolved Digital Age (Journal of Technology Law & Policy, Vol. 20, 2015) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article examines computer crime statutes and focuses on their...

Plummer & Syed on Wrongful Convictions Based on Outdated Science

Caitlin M. Plummer and Imran J. Syed (Wisconsin Innocence Project and Michigan Innocence Clinic) have posted 'Shifted Science' Revisited: Percolation Delays and the Persistence of Wrongful Convictions Based on Outdated Science (Cleveland State Law Review, Vol. 64, 2016) on SSRN....

Green & Yaroshefsky on Prosecutorial Accountability

Bruce A. Green and Ellen Yaroshefsky (Fordham University School of Law and Yeshiva University - Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law) have posted Prosecutorial Accountability 2.0 on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article examines prosecutors' accountability for professional misconduct....

Chapman & MacLean on Sexsomnia

Frances E. Chapman and Jason MacLean (Lakehead University - Faculty of Law and Lakehead University - Bora Laskin Faculty of Law) have posted Parasomnia, Sexsomnia, and Automatism in R. v. Hartman ((2015) 21 Criminal Reports 299) on SSRN. Here is...

"Utah v. Strieff and the future of the exclusionary rule"

Orin Kerr has this post at ScotusBlog previewing an upcoming oral argument. In part: Formally speaking, Utah v. Strieff considers the scope of the Fourth Amendment's exclusionary rule when an illegal stop leads to the discovery of public information that...

Bernstein on Penile Plethysmography Testing and Supervised Release

Max B Bernstein (Fordham University, School of Law, Students) has posted Erectile Dysfunction in Our Courts: Arousing Interest in Eliminating Mandated Penile Plethysmography Testing as a Condition of Supervised Release (Fordham Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:...

Lamparello & Swann on Refusing Consent to a Warrantless Blood Test

Adam Lamparello and Cynthia G Swann (Indiana Tech - Law School and Indiana Tech - Law School) have posted Birchfield v. North Dakota: Why the United States Supreme Court Should Rely on Riley v. California to Hold that Criminalizing a...

Brown on Judicial Power to Regulate Plea Bargaining

Darryl K. Brown (University of Virginia School of Law) has posted Judicial Power to Regulate Plea Bargaining (William & Mary Law Review, Vol. 57, No. 102, 2016) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Plea bargaining in the United States is...

Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads in Criminal Procedure eJournal

are here. The usual disclaimers apply. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 519 The Extraordinary Trajectory of Griffin v. California: The Aftermath of Playing Fifty Years of Scrabble with the Fifth Amendment James J. Duane Regent University - School of Law...

Death Penalty Symposium at Washington & Lee

The annual Lara D. Gass Symposium at the Washington and Lee University School of Law will focus this year on the controversial case of Joseph M. Giarratano, using his story to explore the ethical, legal and public policy issues surrounding...

Gur-Arye on Moral Panic and Criminal Justice

Miriam Gur-Arye (Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Faculty of Law) has posted The Impact of Moral Panic on the Criminal Justice System – Hit and Run Traffic Offenses as a Case Study (New Criminal Law Review (2016)) on SSRN. Here...

Kolber on First Amendment Thought Protection

Adam J. Kolber (Brooklyn Law School) has posted Two Views of First Amendment Thought Privacy (University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: For centuries, our thought privacy has been reasonably well protected by...

Bowman on Federal Sentencing Reform Legislation

Frank O. Bowman III (University of Missouri School of Law) has posted Good Enough to Be Getting on With? The State of Federal Sentencing Reform Legislation, December 2015 (Federal Sentencing Reporter, Vol. 28, No. 105, 2015) on SSRN. Here is...

"Will 'deal' with prosecutor sink Cosby case?"

From CNN.com: And it seems that the terms of the verbal agreement were that if Cosby gave up his constitutional rights and gave deposition testimony in a civil case, there would not be a criminal case against him. This is...

Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads in Criminal Law eJournal

are here. The usual disclaimers apply. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 142 The Constitution and Revenge Porn John A. Humbach Pace University School of Law Date posted to database: 22 Dec 2015 2 124 Neuroscience, Free Will, and Criminal Responsibility...

Aceves on Criminal Liability for Torture

William Aceves (California Western School of Law) has posted United States v. George Tenet: A Federal Indictment for Torture (New York University Journal of International Law and Politics (JILP), Vol. 48, No. 1, 2015) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:...

More Concerns Expressed about ALI’s “Affirmative Consent” Project by ALI Members

Last week, I posted about the latest iterations of the ALI’s draft provisions on sexual assault (the most recent of which was circulated in mid-December) and linked to my recent draft, Backpedalling in Place: The ALI’s Move from “Affirmative” to...

Yilmazkuday on Pro-Competitive Effects of Anti-Crime Laws

Hakan Yilmazkuday (Florida International University) has posted Pro-Competitive Effects of Anti-Crime Laws on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The fear of becoming a victim of crime imposes costs on individuals that act like barriers to retail trade. This paper attempts...

Opinion upholding capital sentencing instructions and proceedings

Justice Scalia delivered the opinion for the Court in Kansas v. Carr, concluding that the instructions in question did not suggest that mitigating factors must be found beyond a reasonable doubt and that no error occurred in holding a joint...

Weitzer on American Policing Under Fire

Ronald Weitzer (George Washington University - Department of Sociology) has posted American Policing Under Fire: Conflict & Reform (Society, Vol. 52 (2015): 475-480) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A cluster of recent police killings of African American men has...

Broadhurst et al. on Recidivism by Homicide Offenders

Roderic Broadhurst , Ross Maller , Max Maller and Brigitte Bouhours (Australian National University (ANU) , Australian National University (ANU) - School of Finance and Applied Statistics , University of Western Australia - Faculty of Law and Australian National University...

Friday's criminal law/procedure cert grants

Issue summaries are from ScotusBlog, which also links to papers: McDonnell v. United States: the Court agreed to rule only on his claim that prosecutors used too expansive an interpretation of the “official acts” provision used in corruption cases under...

Lyon & Stolzenberg on Improving Child Interviewing

Thomas D. Lyon and Stacia N. Stolzenberg (University of Southern California - Gould School of Law and Arizona State University (ASU) - School of Criminology & Criminal Justice) have posted Repeated Self- and Peer-Review Leads to Continuous Improvement in Child...

Duane on Griffin v. California

James J. Duane (Regent University - School of Law) has posted The Extraordinary Trajectory of Griffin v. California: The Aftermath of Playing Fifty Years of Scrabble with the Fifth Amendment (Stanford Journal of Criminal Law and Policy, Vol. 3, p.1,...

Maple & Lang on Cyberstalking

Carsten Maple and Richard Lang (The University of Bedfordshire and University of Brighton - Faculty of Business) have posted Vulnerability, Victims and Free Movement: The Case of Cyberstalking on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The purpose of this short comment...

Grimmelmann on Consenting to Computer Use

James Grimmelmann (University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law) has posted Consenting to Computer Use (George Washington Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) makes it a crime...

Mungan on Reducing Crime Through Expungements

Murat C. Mungan (Florida State University - College of Law) has posted Reducing Crime Through Expungements on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Expungements reduce the visibility of a person's criminal record, and thereby reduce the informal sanctions that may be...

Gerber & Jackson on Public Support for Police Use of Force

Monica M. Gerber and Jonathan Jackson (London School of Economics & Political Science - Methodology Institute and London School of Economics & Political Science - Department of Methodology) have posted Justifying Violence: Legitimacy, Ideology and Public Support for Police Use...

Bhattacharjee on Poverty and Criminal Responsibility

Saurabh Bhattacharjee (West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS)) has posted Should Valjean Have Been Punished for Stealing Bread? Of Poverty and Criminal Responsibility (5 (Winter) Journal of Indian Law and Society 1 (2013)) on SSRN. Here is the...

This week's criminal law/procedure arguments

Issue summary is from ScotusBlog, which also links to papers: Tuesday Duncan v. Owens: Whether the Seventh Circuit violated 28 U.S.C. § 2254 and a long line of this Court's decisions by awarding habeas relief in the absence of clearly...

"Court to decide Johnson retroactivity"

Lyle Denniston has this post at ScotusBlog. In part: Taking on a case that potentially may lead to the release of hundreds — and maybe more — prison inmates, the Supreme Court on Friday afternoon agreed to consider extending to...

Ryan on Second-Look Sentencing

Meghan J. Ryan (Southern Methodist University - Dedman School of Law) has posted Taking Another Look at Second-Look Sentencing (Brooklyn Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A historically unprecedented number of Americans are currently behind bars. Our...

Schwartz & Metcalf on Third-Party Guilt Evidence

David S. Schwartz and Chelsey B. Metcalf (University of Wisconsin Law School and Foley & Lardner) have posted Disfavored Treatment of Third-Party Guilt Evidence (Wisconsin Law Review, 2016, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Forty-five states and ten federal...

Markovitz on Racial Stereotyping in Self-Defense Cases

Jonathan Markovitz has posted 'A Spectacle of Slavery Unwilling to Die': Curbing Reliance on Racial Stereotyping in Self-Defense Cases (UC Irvine Law Review Vol. 5, No. 873) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Defendants claiming self-defense admit to having committed...

Sanger on Scientific Evidence

Robert M. Sanger (Santa Barbara College of Law) has posted A Scientific Approach to Scientific Evidence: A Four-Stage Rule for Admissibility and Scope (Utilizing Forensic Science in Criminal Cases, 2014 Edition, Thomson Reuters/Aspatore (2013), Westlaw: 2013 WL 5757941) on SSRN....

Dennis on Police Violence and the Child's Mind

Andrea Dennis (University of Georgia Law School) has posted Good Cop -- Bad Cop: Police Violence and the Child’s Mind (58 Howard Law Journal 811 (2015)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Police violence against citizens lately has gripped the...

Chapman on The Jury's Constitutional Judgment

Nathan S. Chapman (University of Georgia School of Law) has posted The Jury's Constitutional Judgment (Alabama Law Review, Vol. 67, p. 189, 2015) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Despite the early American jury’s near-mythical role as a check on...

Sanger on Ethnic Adjustments to IQ Scores under Atkins

Robert M. Sanger (Santa Barbara College of Law) has posted IQ, Intelligence Tests, 'Ethnic Adjustments' and Atkins (American University Law Review, Vol. 65, No. 1, 2015) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In Atkins v. Virginia the U.S. Supreme Court...