j u s t c r i m

post racial hate crime statistics

Hate Crime Statistics, 2008 (FBI Press Release):  "Statistics released today by the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed that 7,783 criminal incidents involving 9,168 offenses were reported in 2008 as a result of bias toward a particular race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity/national origin, or disability. Published by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Hate Crime Statistics, 2008, includes data about hate crime incidents submitted by law enforcement agencies throughout the nation."  Hate Crime Statistics, 2008 (FBI Full Report)

virginia is for lovers | elecric chairs

Virginia conducts first US electric chair execution in over a year by Jaclyn Belczyk [JURIST] - "Virginia authorities on Tuesday executed a prisoner by electric chair , conducting the country's first execution by electrocution in over a year. Former Army counterintelligence worker Larry Bill Elliott, who was convicted of a 2001 double murder, was executed Tuesday night after Virginia Governor Tim Kaine declined to intervene. The US Supreme Court had denied a request for a stay on Monday. Virginia law allows condemned prisoners to choose lethal injection or electrocution.

The country's last execution by electric chair took place in South Carolina in June 2008. Virginia last executed a prisoner by electrocution in 2006. In 2008, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that execution by electric chair is "cruel and unusual punishment" and is therefore unconstitutional. The electric chair remains an option in seven states, with two more allowing it only if lethal injection is ruled unconstitutional."

an example of a rule

"The law is made up of rules and standards. Here is an example of a rule, established by the Supreme Court in Roper v. Simmons in 2005: If you commit murder even hours before your 18th birthday, you cannot be put to death for your crime. The same killing a few hours later may be a capital offense. The court drew a bright-line rule at 18..." Adam Liptak, New York Times, "Sidebar - Bright Lines Blur in Juvenile Sentencing" (November 23, 2009) 

attorney general holder speaks

Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force Press Conference Washington, D.C. ~ Tuesday, November 17, 2009

free us case law search | google scholar

Google Scholar has developed a case law search option.  According to Law, Technology & Legal Marketing blog  ... "The US Federal case law database includes US Supreme Court opinions since 1 US 1 (pre - 1776), Federal Appeals opinions since 1 F 2d 1 (1924+), and many Federal District Court opinions from F Supp. Opinions from all 50 states are included since 1950..."

In addition to the Scholar home page's "Legal opinions and journals" radio button limiter,  "Google Scholar's Advanced Scholar Search can [also] be used to to find patents and legal opinions.  Search options include:

(A) all legal opinions and journals;
(B) Search only US federal court opinions;
(C) Search only court opinions from individual states

Available at http://scholar.google.com/advanced_scholar_search

the teen brain

Maroney, Terry A., The False Promise of Adolescent Brain Science in Juvenile Justice (May 18, 2009). Gruter Institute Squaw Valley Conference 2009: Law, Behavior & the Brain; Notre Dame Law Review, Vol. 85, 2010. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1405367

"...[M]any believe that developmental neuroscience contributed to the U.S. Supreme Court’s elimination of the juvenile death penalty in Roper v. Simmons. Post-Roper, scholars assert that the developmentally normal attributes of the teen brain counsel differential treatment of young offenders, and advocates increasingly make such arguments before the courts..."

the supreme court database

"The Supreme Court Database is the definitive source for researchers, students, journalists, and citizens interested in the U.S. Supreme Court. The Database contains over two hundred pieces of information about each case decided by the Court between the 1953 and 2008 terms. Examples include the identity of the court whose decision the Supreme Court reviewed, the parties to the suit, the legal provisions considered in the case, and the votes of the Justices..." 

Available at http://scdb.wustl.edu/

codification of actual innocence habeas relief | h.r. 3986

CLARIFICATION OF THE AVAILABILITY OF FEDERAL HABEAS CORPUS RELIEF FOR A PERSON WHO IS SENTENCED TO DEATH THOUGH ACTUALLY INNOCENT

H. R. 3986 - To amend title 28, United States Code, to clarify the availability of Federal habeas corpus relief for a person who is sentenced to death though actually innocent.  (IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES November 3, 2009)

life prison sentencing | juveniles

Scotusblog say | Monday is oral argument day for Graham v. Florida (08-7412) on the "constitutionality of life prison sentence for juvenile convicted of a non-homicide crime."

2008 Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (FBI)

2008 Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (FBI) - "According to information released today by the FBI, 41 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty last year; 68 officers died in accidents while performing their duties; and 58,792 officers were assaulted while on duty. The 2008 edition of Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted released today provides comprehensive tabular data about these incidents and brief narratives describing the fatal attacks. "

Slouching Toward Abolition: the American Capital Punishment Debate and the Economic Crisis

open access week ... a new look and feel @ the CDL's eScholarship site ... eScholarship provides a suite of open access, scholarly publishing services to the University of California and a dynamic research platform to scholars worldwide.

And a link to this open access article

Simon, Jonathan S. (2009). Slouching Toward Abolition: the American Capital Punishment Debate and the Economic Crisis. UC Berkeley: Center for the Study of Law and Society Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program. Retrieved from: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/8gc6x8p1

1500 pages plus - a health care bill

The Health Care Bill - 1500 pages plus : "To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes ..."

"incarceration american-style"

Dolovich, Sharon, Incarceration American-Style (October 13, 2009). Harvard Law & Policy Review, Vol. 3, p. 237, 2009 ; UCLA School of Law Research Paper No. 09-27. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1488439

Abstract:     
"In the United States today, incarceration is more than just a mode of criminal punishment. It is a distinct cultural practice with its own aesthetic and technique, a practice that has emerged in recent decades as a catch-all mechanism for managing social ills. In this essay, I argue that this emergent carceral system has become self-generating - that American-style incarceration, through the conditions it inflicts, produces the very conduct society claims to abhor and thereby guarantees a steady supply of offenders whose incarceration the public will continue to demand. I argue, moreover, that this reproductive process works to create a class of permanently marginalized and degraded noncitizens - disproportionately poor people of color - who are marked out by the fact of their incarceration for perpetual social exclusion and ongoing social control. This essay serves as the Foreword to a symposium in the Harvard Law & Policy Review addressing the costs of mass incarceration."

United Nations Criminal Justice Standards for United Nations Police

United Nations Criminal Justice Standards for United Nations Police (PDF; 681 KB)
Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO)

Building peace requires more than simply bringing an end to armed conflict; it also requires strengthening the rule of law. The international standards and norms summarized in the present handbook can assist in this critical process. The handbook summarizes the inter- national human rights and criminal justice principles that United Nations police personnel must know, abide by and promote when deployed in peacekeeping operations and special political missions. As such, it is designed to serve a dual purpose. Firstly, it is a code of conduct for police operating under the United Nations flag. Secondly, it is a reference source to help national authorities to improve policing.

texas forensic science commission | perry's massacre

Dallas News:  Perry's Actions Increasingly Suspect (Editorial; Oct 12, 2009) - Gov. Rick Perry's Saturday night massacre of the Texas Forensic Science Commission has extended into Sunday and beyond.

When the governor abruptly unseated three commission members, including the chairman, he derailed a hearing about a flawed arson investigation that led to an execution. Little more than a week later, the governor has replaced a fourth member of the forensic science panel.

crime in cali 2008 ... advance release

Hot off Cyberwire ... From the Office of Attorney General Edmund G. Brown ..."Crime in California, 2008, Advance Release provides 2008 criminal justice data on crimes, arrests, adult felony arrest dispositions, citizens’ complaints against peace officers, and juvenile dispositions and placements. The full reports, Crime in California, 2008 and Juvenile Justice in California, 2008, will be completed later in 2009..."

skilling made a killing ...

SCOTUS BLOG [Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 10:11 am | Lyle Denniston] - "The Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to rule on claims that “searing media attacks” on longtime Enron executive Jeffrey K. Skilling tainted his criminal trial and conviction on various fraud charges.  The case of Skilling v. U.S. (08-1394) also raises an issue on the scope of the federal law punishing the failure to provide “honest services” as a corporate executive.  This was one of four cases granted review, to be argued early next year.  The Court, however, took no action on a significant new Guantanamo Bay detainee case, Kiyemba v. Obama (08-1234). (UPDATE: The Court will again consider the Kiyemba case at its next private Conference, next Monday, according to the Court’s electronic docket.)"

bad advice | scotus

"Court to decide constitutionality of bad advice"

towards a uniform bar examination ... (nlj)

Uniform Bar Exam Drawing Closer to Reality  - States' adoption of the test reflects the legal profession?s nationalization (Leigh Jones, The National Law Journal: October 12, 2009):

"It could mark one of the biggest changes for lawyers joining the profession since the first U.S. bar exam was given in Delaware in 1763 -- a single bar exam aimed at standardizing attorney credentials nationwide.

Next year, at least 10 states are expected to switch to the so-called Uniform Bar Exam, and 22 other jurisdictions are positioned to adopt the test in the next few years. The test, developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, will allow law school graduates to transport their bar scores across state lines without re-taking exams. And backers say a uniform exam will improve the quality of bar exams, particularly in states with small test-development budgets..."

high anxiety -- in class

Law School Academic Support Blog:  "Anxiety over being called on in class - I vividly remember the first time I was called on in law school.  It was Contracts class.  I was well-prepared.  I opened my mouth to respond, and nothing came out.  It was probably only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity.  Anxiety almost took over.  The ironic thing is that I had regularly done public speaking throughout my prior career..."

You will be ... embarressed ... or you're not trying :)

Sovereign Comity: Factors in Recognizing Tribal Court Criminal Convictions in State and Federal Courts

Fletcher, Matthew L. M., Sovereign Comity: Factors in Recognizing Tribal Court Criminal Convictions in State and Federal Courts (October 5, 2009). Court Review, Vol. 45, No. 12, 2009; MSU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 07-23. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1483108

"State and federal courts increasingly are being confronted with prosecutors moving the court to consider prior convictions in American Indian tribal courts during the sentencing phase, and sometimes earlier. If the conviction being introduced occurred in state or federal court, the instant court would be obligated to give full faith and credit to that conviction. But if the prior conviction occurred in a tribal court, state and federal courts are often confronted with unforeseen complexities. This paper is intended to parse through much of the political baggage associated with recognizing tribal court convictions. To be frank, the law is unsettled, leaving little guidance for state and federal judges in these cases, while at the same time granting enormous discretion to judges on the questions involved. The first part of this paper will provide a quick overview of the constitutional status of Indian tribes and tribal courts, as well providing a basic but sufficient introduction to relevant principles of federal Indian law. The second part will offer a summary of criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country and, in particular, what role tribes play – and how well they play it. The third part offers a short description of the key cases in the field, as well as relevant federal and state statutes, and state court rules. It also offers a short normative argument on the question of what state and federal court judges who are confronted with prior tribal court convictions should look for in these cases, especially where the defendants convicted in tribal court are not represented by counsel."

Crime Against People with Disabilities, 2007 (BJS)

Crime Against People with Disabilities, 2007 - "Presents the first findings about nonfatal violent and property crime experienced by persons with disabilities, based on the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The report includes data on nonfatal violent victimization (rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated and simple assault) and property crime (burglary, motor vehicle theft, theft) against persons with disabilities in 2007. It compares the victimization experience of persons with and without disabilities, using population estimates based on the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). Data are presented on victim and crime characteristics of persons with and without disabilities, including age, race and gender distribution; offender weapon use; victim injuries; and reporting to the police..."

dead weather - new pony @ glastonbury 2009

children's exposure to violence | a comprehensive national study

from beSpacific - Children’s Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive National Survey

News release: "The Department of Justice is releasing a new study today that measures the effects of youth violence in America, and the results are staggering. More than 60 percent of the children surveyed were exposed to violence in the past year, either directly or indirectly. Nearly half of children and adolescents were assaulted at least once, and more than one in ten were injured as a result. Nearly one-quarter were the victim of a robbery, vandalism or theft, and one in sixteen were victimized sexually. Those numbers are astonishing, and they are unacceptable. We simply cannot stand for an epidemic of violence that robs our youth of their childhood and perpetuates a cycle in which today’s victims become tomorrow’s criminals."

Children’s Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive National Survey, October 2009: "Presents findings from the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence, the most comprehensive survey to date of children’s exposure to violence in the United States. The survey was conducted between January and May 2008, and surveyed more than 4,500 children or their parents or adult caregivers regarding their past-year and lifetime exposure to violence. This Bulletin discusses the survey’s findings regard children’s direct and indirect exposure to specific categories of violence, how exposure to violence changes as children grow up, and the prevalence and incidence of multiple and cumulative exposures to violence. It also discusses the implications of the survey findings for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners who work with juvenile victims of violence."

a giant cross | california desert

Scotusblog:  The transcript of oral argument in Salazar v. Buono (08-472) is available here.