On “Vague Latin Phrase” and Criminal Confessions: Corpus Delicti, Trustworthiness, and Corroboration, and the Federal Rules of Evidence
On "Vague Latin Phrase" and Criminal Confessions: Corpus Delicti, Trustworthiness, and Corroboration, and the Federal Rules of Evidence The corpus delicti rule—prohibiting conviction of a crime based solely on a…
Past, Prologue, and Constitutional Limits on Criminal Penalties
Past, Prologue, and Constitutional Limits on Criminal Penalties Most criminal prosecutions occur at a level that is both neglected by many legal scholars and central to the lives of most…
Rethinking the Balance of Interests in Non-Exculpatory Defenses
Rethinking the Balance of Interests in Non-Exculpatory Defenses Most criminal law defenses serve the criminal law’s goal of shielding blameless defendants from liability. Justification defenses, such as self- defense and…
Extraterritorial State Criminal Law, Post-Dobbs
Extraterritorial State Criminal Law, Post-Dobbs Like the federal government, states can apply their laws to people beyond their borders. Statutes can reach out-of-state conduct, such as fraud, that has effects…
The Rule of Lenity as a Disruptor
The Rule of Lenity as a Disruptor This article discusses the application of the rule of lenity in the American legal system. Although this constitutes a substantial element of criminal…
Forbidden Purposes: A New Path for Limiting Criminalization
Forbidden Purposes: A New Path for Limiting Criminalization Activists and scholars have often complained that the American criminal justice system makes choices about criminalization and sentences based on nefarious reasons.…
Fair Notice and Criminalizing Abortions
Fair Notice and Criminalizing Abortions The principle of legality requires that individuals receive “fair notice” of conduct that is criminal. Courts enforce this fair notice requirement through various interpretive principles…
What If Criminal Lawmaking Becomes Trustworthy?
What If Criminal Lawmaking Becomes Trustworthy? One common theoretical perspective posits that courts should assume a counter-majoritarian role in criminal law because the political process systematically disfavors the interests of…
Beyond Due Process: An Examination of the Restorative Justice Community Courts of Chicago
Beyond Due Process: An Examination of the Restorative Justice Community Courts of Chicago As American society has reckoned with the harmful effects of mass incarceration, there has been a push…
Casting a Ballot for Change: How to Overcome Jail Policy Deficiencies and the O’Brien Precedent to Expand Voting Rights for Jailed Individuals
Casting a Ballot for Change: How to Overcome Jail Policy Deficiencies and the O’Brien Precedent to Expand Voting Rights for Jailed Individuals Prior to the 2020 election, lawmakers in several…
Restorative Justice Diversion as a Structural Health Intervention in the Criminal Legal System
Restorative Justice Diversion as a Structural Health Intervention in the Criminal Legal System A new discourse at the intersection of criminal justice and public health is bringing to light how…
Are Police Officers Bayesians? Police Updating in Investigative Stops
Are Police Officers Bayesians? Police Updating in Investigative Stops Theories of rational behavior assume that actors make decisions where the benefits of their acts exceed their costs or losses. If…