Criminal Law

Stopping the Presses: National Security Meets Freedom of Speech
Vol. 106 No. 1 (2022) | Necessarily EngagedThere are at least two points of consensus among those who study national security secrecy: First, the government must keep some secrets in order to protect national security. Second, a […]

Autopsy Reports and the Confrontation Clause: A Presumption of Admissibility
by Daniel J. Capra and Joseph Tartakovsky
Vol. 99 No. 3 (2015) | Fixing DiscoveryIn 2004, the Supreme Court, inĀ Crawford v. Washington,Ā restored the āoriginal meaningā of the Sixth Amendmentās Confrontation Clause. The framers of that clause ā which guarantees a criminal defendant the right […]

Jurors Asking Questions
by David R. Herndon and N. Randy Smith
Vol. 100 No. 1 (2016) | 100 Years of JudicatureIn some courtrooms, the practice of allowing jurors to pose questions to witnesses is gaining traction. Questioning witnesses allows jurors to clarify information and better understand the evidence and arguments […]

Legal Standards By The Numbers
by Heidi L. Hansberry, Russell F. Canan, Molly Cannon and Richard Seltzer
Vol. 100 No. 1 (2016) | 100 Years of JudicatureJust after midnight on a warm summer night, a Caucasian woman was walking alone on the streets of Washington, D.C. All of a sudden, three young men she had never […]

Justice Jacksonās Persistent Post-Nuremberg Legacy
Vol. 105 No. 3 (2021) | Leaving AfghanistanJustice Jacksonās post-Nuremberg legacy ā his ādispassionate approachā to criminal procedure ā continues to shape modern Fourth Amendment jurisprudence.

Last living Nuremberg Trial prosecutor recalls his work on the Einsatzgruppen Trial
by Benjamin Ferencz and Michael P. Scharf
Vol. 105 No. 3 (2021) | Leaving AfghanistanDuring the Nuremberg Trials, Ferencz served as a principal trial lawyer for the U.S., working under chief prosecutors Justice Robert Jackson and Telford Taylor.

Monitoring the Misdemeanor Bail Reform Consent Decree in Harris County, Texas
by Brandon Garrett and Sandra Guerra Thompson
Vol. 105 No. 2 (2021) | Judicial IndependenceMaranda ODonnell was driving to her motherās house to pick up her four-year-old daughter when she was stopped by police and arrested for driving with a suspended license. As was […]

The Burden of Privacy In Discovery
by Robert D. Keeling and Ray Mangum
Vol. 105 No. 2 (2021) | Judicial IndependenceWith the proliferation of social media platforms and other new technologies has come a renewed legal focus on privacy. Most of that focus has centered on data collection, storage, sharing, […]

Who appointed me God? Reflections of a Judge on Criminal Sentencing
Vol. 100 No. 3 (2016) | Who appointed me god?In my 14 years as a federal district judge, I estimate that I have sentenced well over 2,000 individuals.1 Sentencing is the most multifaceted, emotional, and challenging task a judge […]

The New Rap Sheet: Prosecuting Crimes, Chilling Free Speech
by SpearIt
Vol. 104 No. 2 (2020) | Coping with COVIDWith the Fourth Amendment gone, eyes are on the First // Thatās why Iām spittin cyanide each and every verse These lyrics from American rap artist Parisā 2003 album, Sonic […]