The Worst of the Worst: Heinous Crimes and Erroneous Evidence
The criminal justice system was once considered infallible. But we now know that innocent defendants are incarcerated and even executed. Indeed, the National Registry of Exonerations (“NRE”) provides a...
View ArticleTunnel Vision: Causes, Effects, and Mitigation Strategies
The recent spate of exonerations has alerted the public about the problem of intentional prosecutorial misconduct. However, an even more disturbing insight gained from the study of exonerations is that...
View ArticlePolitical Prosecutions in Ukraine: The Case of Yulia Tymoshenko
The winter of 2013 to 2014 made a mark in the history of Ukraine. It was a time of mourning for the heroes killed during the Revolution of Dignity, and a time of joy from the victory. It was a time...
View ArticleBrady v. Maryland, Attorney Discipline, and Materiality: Failed...
In Brady v. Maryland, the Supreme Court set the basic outlines of what has become known as the “Brady doctrine.” The government, according to this principle, has a general duty to disclose information...
View ArticleJudicial Responsibility for Justice in Criminal Courts
Good morning. In 2003, I became a trial judge in San Diego. Because I had been a civil litigator for my entire legal career, my first assignment was, of course, in a criminal trial department. I...
View ArticleJudges Need to Exercise Their Responsibility to Require that Eligible...
There are many courts in the United States, particularly misdemeanor courts, in which accused persons appear and often plead guilty without ever receiving the advice of counsel, even when they are...
View ArticleThe Judicial Role in Criminal Charging and Plea Bargaining
The standard answer to the question of what role judges have in determining the appropriateness of criminal charges is “virtually none.” On the one hand, it is “the primary constitutional duty of the...
View ArticleHere Comes the Judge: A Model for Judicial Oversight and Regulation of the...
Under the current state of the law, there is no mechanism in place to ensure that a criminal defendant receives information in the exclusive possession of the government that negates guilt, undermines...
View ArticleA Judge’s Duty to Do Justice: Ensuring the Accused’s Right to the Effective...
Every judge takes an oath, similar to the oath federal judges take, to “administer justice” and to “do equal right to the poor and to the rich.” In addition, the American Bar Association (“ABA”) Model...
View ArticleInformed Misdemeanor Sentencing
There is no such thing as a low-stakes misdemeanor. The deceptive thing about misdemeanor sentencing is that the punishment the judge actually imposes in court is not the main event, in the long run....
View ArticleThe Culture of Misdemeanor Courts
The national conversation about criminal justice reform increasingly, and rightly, has focused on misdemeanors. Just as courts and scholars increasingly have acknowledged that our criminal justice...
View ArticleJudges as Bullies
It can’t be easy being a judge. The responsibility is enormous: to protect and maintain the rule of law; determine facts and law; resolve disputes large and small; and, in criminal matters, decide...
View ArticleSurveying Justice
Lawyers are supposed to be loyal, diligent, and competent client advocates and at the same time officers of the court, who bear a special duty “to avoid conduct that undermines the integrity of the...
View ArticleEradicating Assembly-Line Justice: an Opportunity Lost by the Revised...
Every day in criminal courts across the country, thousands of people enter guilty pleas within hours of their arrest at their initial appearance or arraignment before a judge. The practice is so...
View ArticleHofstra Mission Critical: The Unified Behavioral Health Center
In April 2016, the Gitenstein Institute for Health Law and Policy at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University hosted a conference entitled “Mission Critical Veterans Health Summit:...
View ArticleBurden of Mental Illness Among Veterans Seen in VA Primary Care and the...
In addition to the behavioral health collaborative care model, fellow panelists Keith Grant, Veterans Coordinator, Nassau County Department of Human Services, and the author explored some of the...
View ArticlePTSD, TBI, and OTH Discharges: A Case Study of a Young Service Member
At the April 2016 conference, “Mission Critical Veterans Health Summit: Addressing the Invisible Wounds of Our Nation’s Veterans,” hosted by the Gitenstein Institute for Health Law and Policy...
View ArticleContemporary Perspectives on Wrongful Conviction: An Introduction to the 2016...
Innocent people have been convicted of crimes they did not commit throughout history. The exact number of wrongful convictions is unknowable. In 2014, however, the National Academy of Sciences (“NAS”)...
View ArticleWrongfully Convicted in California: Are There Connections Between...
According to the National Registry of Exonerations, 1900 documented exonerations have occurred in the United States since 1989, with 166 coming from California. From the national data, we have...
View ArticleStrange Bedfellows: Can Insurers Play a Role in Advancing Gideon’s Promise?
Over fifty years ago, Gideon v. Wainwright resoundingly embraced the principle that public defenders are “necessities, not luxuries” and as such, are required to protect the accused person’s...
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