CrimProf Blog

Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads in Criminal Law eJournal

are here.  The usual disclaimers apply.

Rank	Paper	Downloads
1.	Criminal Liability of Artificial Intelligence Andreas Nanos Charles University in Prague - Faculty of Law Date Posted: 06 Nov 2023 [2nd last week]	135
2.	Bodies of Evidence: The Criminalization of Abortion and Surveillance of Women in a Post-Dobbs World Jolynn Dellinger and Stephanie Pell Duke University School of Law and Brookings Institution Date Posted: 08 Nov 2023 [1st last week]	135
3.	Criminalisation of Marital Rape in India Anurag Singh and mercy Infanta Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) - Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), VIT School of Law (VITSOL), Students and Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) - VIT School of Law (VITSOL) Date Posted: 10 Nov 2023 [5th last week]	82
4.	A Criminal Law Based on Harm Alone: The Story of California Criminal Justice Reform Joshua Kleinfeld and Thomas Hoyt Northwestern University - Pritzker School of Law and Independent Date Posted: 26 Apr 2022 [7th last week]	52
5.	Using Large Language Models to Support Thematic Analysis in Empirical Legal Studies Jakub Drápal, Hannes Westermann and Jaromir Savelka Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Law, University of Montreal - Cyberjustice Laboratory and Carnegie Mellon University Date Posted: 30 Nov 2023 [8th last week]	50
6.	Bad Attempts Andrew Jensen Kerr Peking University School of Transnational Law Date Posted: 05 Dec 2023 [9th last week]	36
7.	Critiquing Capital Punishment in the United States: an Argument That the Death Penalty is Both Bad Law and Bad Policy Nathan Tatum Georgetown University, Law Center Date Posted: 30 Oct 2023 [10th last week]	33
8.	Vulnerable Defendants and Neuroscience in Courtrooms Worldwide Deborah W. Denno Fordham University School of Law Date Posted: 28 Nov 2023 [new to top ten]	30
9.	Plea Problems and Diversion Dilemmas: Protecting Juvenile Rights Through Pragmatic Means Jackson Lanier North Carolina Central University (NCCU) - School of Law Date Posted: 27 Nov 2023 [new to top ten]	25
10.	In Re Naoise Connolly Ryan et al.: Petition for a Writ of Mandamus Pursuant to the Crime Victims' Rights Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3771(D)(3) Paul G. Cassell, Robert A. Clifford, Tracy A. Brammeier, Erin R. Applebaum, Warren T. Burns, Darren P. Nicholson, Kyle Kilpatrick Oxford and Chase Hilton University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law, Clifford Law Offices, Clifford Law Offices, Kreindler & Kreindler, LLP, Burns Charest LLP, Burns Charest LLP, Burns Charest LLP and Burns Charest LLP Date Posted: 17 Nov 2023 [new to top ten]	23

Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads in Criminal Procedure eJournal

are here.  The usual disclaimers apply.

Rank	Paper	Downloads
1.	When Reality TV Creates Reality: How “Copaganda” Affects Police, Communities, and Viewers Emma Rackstraw Harvard University Date Posted: 01 Nov 2023	739
2.	The First Black Jurors and the Integration of the American Jury Thomas Frampton University of Virginia School of Law Date Posted: 23 Oct 2023	243
3.	Critical Clinical Frames: Centering Adolescence, Race, Trauma, and Gender in Practice-Based Pedagogy Eduardo R. Ferrer and Kristin N. Henning Georgetown Juvenile Justice Clinic & Initiative and Georgetown University Law Center Date Posted: 20 Nov 2023	113
4.	The Embarrassing Sixth Amendment Andrea L. Roth University of California, Berkeley - School of Law Date Posted: 09 Nov 2023	109
5.	"Progressive" Prosecutors and "Proper" Punishments Benjamin Levin Washington University in St. Louis - School of Law Date Posted: 27 Nov 2023 [6th last week]	109
6.	Eliminating Rule 609 to Provide a Fair Opportunity to Defend Against Criminal Charges: A Proposal to the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Evidence Jeffrey Bellin William & Mary Law School Date Posted: 28 Nov 2023 [5th last week]	107
7.	Eavesdropping, the Fourth Amendment, and the Common Law (of Eavesdropping) Donald A. Dripps University of San Diego School of Law Date Posted: 26 Oct 2023	93
8.	Policing Emotions: What Social Psychology Can Teach Fourth Amendment Doctrine Wayne A. Logan Florida State University - College of Law Date Posted: 10 Nov 2023	72
9.	Implementation and Effectiveness of Police Checkpoint in Cotabato City REYMOND JULIAN Headstart College of Cotabato Date Posted: 16 Nov 2023	72
10.	From Rhyming Bars to Behind Bars: The Problematic Use of Rap Lyrics in Criminal Proceedings Lucy Litt Harvard Law School Date Posted: 26 Oct 2023	67

Hasson on Thai Drug Offenses

Jonathan Hasson (University of Oxford - Faculty of Law, Centre for Criminology) has posted Thai Drugs Offenses and Narcotic Charges: Tracing Thailand's Drug Control and Capital Punishment History (Brooklyn Journal of International Law, Vol. 49, No. 2, 2024) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

The article provides a comprehensive historical analysis of Thailand's drug policies, capital punishment practices, and their evolution in the context of Western influence. It explores Thailand's transformation into a prominent hub for illicit drugs, considering the role of European and US interventions since colonial times. The paper sheds light on how Thai authorities adopted Western ideas to advance their objectives, often at the cost of democratic principles, and how these strategies became enmeshed with corruption, militarisation, and state-led violence, disproportionately affecting ethnic minorities.

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Hasson & Tennenbaum on Jewish Penology

Jonathan Hasson and Abraham Tennenbaum (University of Oxford - Faculty of Law, Centre for Criminology and University of Oxford - Centre for Criminology) have posted Jewish Penology: Navigating Inconsistencies and Bridging the Secular Divide (Touro Law Review, Vol. 40, No. 1, 2024) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

Jewish law—the halakha atop its Pentateuchal understructure (the ‘Written Law’) and its Mishnaic and Talmudic elaboration (the ‘Oral Law’ or ‘Oral Torah’)—is unique in multiple key respects. Its stringent evidentiary and procedural restrictions often prevent conviction of the guilty and entailed the establishment of two pragmatic complementary legal systems — ‘the King’s justice’ and ‘courts that administer punishments and beatings without regard to Torah’—that grant the monarch and the judiciary broad discretion to punish as they deem fit. And while modern codes focus on crimes against persons, Jewish law also centers on crimes against God. Many contemporary scholars conclude that the deistic character of Jewish law and its reliance on complementary legal systems rules it out as a model for secular law. If this is so, Jewish law will have nothing to contribute to discussions regarding capital punishment and other crucial topics. We argue contrarily, seeing Jewish law as a pragmatic system that indeed addresses crimes against human victims. Drawing on Ancient Near Eastern and other historical sources, we show that the provisions that diminished the efficacy of Jewish law were later adaptations to changing social circumstances. Jewish law is unique is its incidence over millennia across national borders and within other governing systems. Marginalizing this ancient legal system instead of using it to develop contemporary legal systems squanders a valuable source of ‘wisdom capital’—foremost where capital punishment is concerned.

Bellin on The Needless Search for a Founding-Era "Hearsay" Definition

Jeffrey Bellin (William & Mary Law School) has posted The Needless Search for a Founding-Era “Hearsay” Definition (University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

Modern Confrontation Clause doctrine permits only unconfronted “out-of-court statements that would have been admissible in a criminal case at the time of the founding.” To operationalize this concept, the Supreme Court identifies “testimonial hearsay” as the Clause’s primary concern. Its opinions regularly dive into the historical record to refine what counts as “testimonial” but ignore that record in defining “hearsay.” This omission cannot last. Cases in the lower courts, including one on the Court’s current docket, concern testimonial but (arguably) non-hearsay statements. And while confrontation jurisprudence is supposed to be tied to founding-era evidence law, the “hearsay” definition casually referenced by the Court in its opinions so far is a modern innovation. In future cases, the Court will have to identify a founding-era hearsay definition or chart an alternate path.

Since there was no precise definition of hearsay in 1791, this essay proposes an alternate path: reframing the Clause as prohibiting unconfronted “testimonial statements” (not “testimonial hearsay”). It also suggests that the Court’s insight regarding the unobjectionable nature of non-hearsay can be incorporated into the definition of “testimonial.” The current test for whether a statement is “testimonial” focuses exclusively on the context in which the statement arose. A more robust test would examine both the statement’s context and the subsequent use of that statement at trial.

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Gershowitz on The Prosecutor Vacancy Crisis

Adam M. Gershowitz (William & Mary Law School) has posted The Prosecutor Vacancy Crisis on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

There is a prosecutor vacancy crisis in the United States. Prosecutors are quitting in droves and there are few applicants to replace them. In Houston and Los Angeles, more than 15% of prosecutor positions are open. In Detroit, the vacancy rate exceeds 20%. In Alameda, 25% of prosecutor positions are empty. And in Miami, a staggering 33% of prosecutor positions are unfilled. The situation is equally dire in many large and small counties across the nation.

Drawing on data and interviews from more than two-dozen district attorney’s offices, this article documents how low salaries, massive caseloads, the lack of remote work options, and crushing discovery burdens have caused an exodus from prosecutors’ offices. Worse yet, many young lawyers no longer perceive prosecutor jobs as admirable public service. Following the murder of George Floyd, law students are more likely to believe that public defenders, rather than prosecutors, are on the side of justice.

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Salcedo-Albaran et al. on Machine Learning Models to Disentangle Crime

Eduardo Salcedo-Albarán, Luis Garay, and José Cano Melani have posted Machine Learning Models on Criminal Networks (MLMoCN): Artificial Intelligence to Disentangle Crime on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

Artificial intelligence (“AI”) is an outstanding technology for analyzing massive volumes of structured and unstructured data. Within the theoretical and methodological framework of Criminal Network Analysis (“CNA”), AI assists in classifying and extracting structured and unstructured data, and generating Criminal Network Graphs (“CNG”). To accomplish these tasks, Machine Learning Models must be trained with real/empirical data that describes the characteristics of the nodes/agents involved in the criminal networks and their interactions. This paper discusses the characteristics of the resulting models, herein defined as Machine Learning Models on Criminal Networks (MLMoCNs), and the prospects and obstacles for applying the most sophisticated AI techniques to CNA.

Tzanous on the EU's Law Enforcement Directive

Maria Tzanou (University of Sheffield) has posted two manuscripts on SSRN on this subject. The first is Article 8 LED. Lawfulness of Processing (Eleni Kosta & Franziska Boehm (eds), The Law Enforcement Directive: A Commentary (Oxford University Press) (2023), Forthcoming). Here is the abstract:

 

Analysis of Article 8 of the European Union Directive 2016/680 of 27 Apri016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, and on the free movement of such data (the Data Protection Law Enforcement Directive- LED).

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Tzanous on The EU Directive on Personal Data

Maria Tzanou (University of Sheffield) has posted Article 7 LED. Distinction Between Personal Data and Verification of Quality of Personal Data (Eleni Kosta & Franziska Boehm (eds), The Law Enforcement Directive: A Commentary (Oxford University Press) (2023), Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

Analysis of Article 7 of the European Union Directive 2016/680 of 27 Apri016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, and on the free movement of such data (the Data Protection Law Enforcement Directive- LED).

Clark et al. on Trauma-Informed Policing

Todd Clark, Caleb Gregory Conrad, <!>andré <!>douglas pond <!>cummings, and Amy Dunn Johnson (St. Thomas University School of Law, University of Arkansas at Little Rock - William H. Bowen School of Law, University of Arkansas at Little Rock - William H. Bowen School of Law and 15th Division, 6th Judicial District of Arkansas) have posted Trauma-Informed Policing: The Impact of Adult and Childhood Trauma on Law Enforcement Officers (Case Western Reserve Law Review, Vol. 73, No. 3, 2023) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

For every six months that a police officer serves in the line of duty, he or she is likely to experience an average of three traumatic events. Such events may include fatal accidents, murders, suicides, and active threats to the life of the officer or someone else. Given the wealth of available data on how trauma reorganizes the nervous system to respond to everyday stimuli as threatening, this is an area that cries for critical exploration, especially in light of the frequency with which unarmed Black civilians are killed at the hands of officers who often make split-second decisions to respond to situations they perceive as dangerous with deadly force.

For police officers of color, on-the-job trauma is often compounded by the lived experience of being a Black or brown person in America. Our previous research has delved into the traumatic fallout of the overpolicing of Black youth and its long-term negative health impacts on Black people at a population level. As adults, officers of color then face both the persistent stress of living in a society that treats Black lives as disposable and the forceful, public rebukes of abusive police practices that target the very people who look like them. Such critiques, police officers report, add to the stress of an already demanding, hazard-filled profession.

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Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads in Criminal Law eJournal

are here.  The usual disclaimers apply.

Rank	Paper	Downloads
1.	Bodies of Evidence: The Criminalization of Abortion and Surveillance of Women in a Post-Dobbs World Jolynn Dellinger and Stephanie Pell Duke University School of Law and Brookings Institution Date Posted: 08 Nov 2023	132
2.	Criminal Liability of Artificial Intelligence Andreas Nanos Charles University in Prague - Faculty of Law Date Posted: 06 Nov 2023 [3rd last week]	119
3.	The Forgotten Jurisprudence of Parole and State Constitutional Doctrines of Vagueness Kristen Bell University of Oregon School of Law Date Posted: 18 Oct 2023 [2nd last week]	102
4.	'Statistics are Human Beings with the Tears Wiped Away': Utilizing Data to Develop Strategies to Reduce the Number of Native Americans Who Go Missing Lori McPherson and Sarah Blazucki Government of the United States of America - United States Marshals Service (USMS) and Independent Date Posted: 19 Oct 2023	82
5.	Criminalisation of Marital Rape in India Anurag Singh and mercy Infanta Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) - Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), VIT School of Law (VITSOL), Students and Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) - VIT School of Law (VITSOL) Date Posted: 10 Nov 2023 [7th last week]	75
6.	The Analysis of Research Review for the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Dr.Thangavel V St. Francis Institute of Management and Research Mumbai. Date Posted: 23 Oct 2023 [5th last week]	69
7.	A Criminal Law Based on Harm Alone: The Story of California Criminal Justice Reform Joshua Kleinfeld and Thomas Hoyt Northwestern University - Pritzker School of Law and Independent Date Posted: 26 Apr 2022 [8th last week]	51
8.	Using Large Language Models to Support Thematic Analysis in Empirical Legal Studies Jakub Drápal, Hannes Westermann and Jaromir Savelka Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Law, University of Montreal - Cyberjustice Laboratory and Carnegie Mellon University Date Posted: 30 Nov 2023 [9th last week]	49
9.	Bad Attempts Andrew Jensen Kerr Peking University School of Transnational Law Date Posted: 05 Dec 2023 [new to top ten]	31
10.	Critiquing Capital Punishment in the United States: an Argument That the Death Penalty is Both Bad Law and Bad Policy Nathan Tatum Georgetown University, Law Center Date Posted: 30 Oct 2023 [new to top ten]	30

Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads in Criminal Procedure eJournal

are here.  The usual disclaimers apply.

Rank	Paper	Downloads
1.	When Reality TV Creates Reality: How “Copaganda” Affects Police, Communities, and Viewers Emma Rackstraw Harvard University Date Posted: 01 Nov 2023	731
2.	The First Black Jurors and the Integration of the American Jury Thomas Frampton University of Virginia School of Law Date Posted: 23 Oct 2023	242
3.	Critical Clinical Frames: Centering Adolescence, Race, Trauma, and Gender in Practice-Based Pedagogy Eduardo R. Ferrer and Kristin N. Henning Georgetown Juvenile Justice Clinic & Initiative and Georgetown University Law Center Date Posted: 20 Nov 2023 [5th last week]	113
4.	The Embarrassing Sixth Amendment Andrea L. Roth University of California, Berkeley - School of Law Date Posted: 09 Nov 2023 [6th last week]	107
5.	Eliminating Rule 609 to Provide a Fair Opportunity to Defend Against Criminal Charges: A Proposal to the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Evidence Jeffrey Bellin William & Mary Law School Date Posted: 28 Nov 2023 [7th last week]	105
6.	"Progressive" Prosecutors and "Proper" Punishments Benjamin Levin Washington University in St. Louis - School of Law Date Posted: 27 Nov 2023 [8th last week]	100
7.	Eavesdropping, the Fourth Amendment, and the Common Law (of Eavesdropping) Donald A. Dripps University of San Diego School of Law Date Posted: 26 Oct 2023 [9th last week]	93
8.	Policing Emotions: What Social Psychology Can Teach Fourth Amendment Doctrine Wayne A. Logan Florida State University - College of Law Date Posted: 10 Nov 2023 [new to top ten]	71
9.	Implementation and Effectiveness of Police Checkpoint in Cotabato City REYMOND JULIAN Headstart College of Cotabato Date Posted: 16 Nov 2023 [10th last week]	70
10.	From Rhyming Bars to Behind Bars: The Problematic Use of Rap Lyrics in Criminal Proceedings Lucy Litt Harvard Law School Date Posted: 26 Oct 2023 [new to top ten]	66

Bhardwaj & Tabak on Financial Distress and Crime

Sakshi Bhardwaj and Daniel Tabak (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) have posted Effect of Redetermination of Safety-net on Financial Distress and Local Crime: Evidence from Indiana on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

This paper investigates the effect of losing welfare benefits on local household financial distress and crime. We estimate this effect using a quasi-experiment in which Indiana outsourced and automated the processing of TANF, food stamps, and Medicaid applications. The welfare automation policy was implemented in three waves prior to its cancellation in 2009, before reaching all counties. Using consumer credit panel data, we explore this variation to find that the Indiana welfare automation program, which reduced enrollment in SNAP and TANF enrollment, significantly increased the number of accounts in collections, collections balances, bankruptcy filings, and decreased credit scores. Using data from the Uniform Crime Reporting series, we find that welfare automation policy has also increased crime, primarily property crimes.

Diab on Goffman and Surreptitious Recordings as Evidence

Robert Diab (Thompson Rivers University - Faculty of Law) has posted Harm to Self-Identity: Reading Goffman to Reassess the Use of Surreptitious Recordings as Evidence (Manitoba Law Journal, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

For decades in Canada, surreptitious recordings made by civilians have been admissible in criminal and family trials and labour and employment cases. Courts and tribunals have applied a similar test for admissibility that asks whether a recording is more probative than prejudicial. Recordings are readily seen to be invasive, but the concept of prejudice applied in most cases concerns the fairness and accuracy of what is captured in a recording and not its social or psychological impact on the person affected. This article draws on privacy theory and on Erving Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life to argue that jurisprudence to date has failed to recognize the nature and degree of prejudice surreptitious recordings cause an affected person. A better understanding of this supports a revised test for admission. A recording that captures a private conversation should not be admitted, except in the last resort, which would include where the prosecution has no other means of proving a material fact in issue, where innocence is at stake, or in a civil case where it is necessary to rectify a significant power imbalance affecting credibility.

Garriott & Garcia-Fuerte on Social Equity and Cannabis Legalization

William Garriott and Jose Garcia-Fuerte (Drake University - Law, Politics, and Society Program and Graduate of Lewis & Clark Law School) have posted The Social Equity Paradigm: The Quest for Justice in Cannabis Legalization (Seton Hall Legislative Journal, Vol. 47, No. 1, 2023) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

Today, many states have adopted a commercial-based approach to cannabis legalization which reflects the market for alcohol to govern the production, distribution, and consumption of the cannabis plant and its derivatives. As a result, legalization has prioritized economic benefits and structures over justice concerns that would dismantle the old infrastructure of prohibition. This continues to shape the way legalization is unfolding across the United States.

One impact of this market-based approach is the push for social equity within the cannabis industry. Though poor people and people of color have disproportionately suffered under prohibition, it is those least likely to have been targeted—wealthy and/or white people—that have disproportionately benefited from legalization.

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Funk on MLATs and Letters Rogatory

T. Markus Funk, PhD (University of Colorado School of Law) has posted Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties and Letters Rogatory (Federal Judicial Center) (U.S. Federal Judicial Center, International Litigation Guide, 2023) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

The investigation of transnational criminal conduct, like the discovery process for transnational civil proceedings, often involve gathering evidence located in foreign countries. However, national sovereignty, international treaties, and international law preclude U.S. law enforcement officials from simply flying to a foreign country to conduct searches, question suspects, obtain documents, and proceed with arresting individuals for trial in the United States. In the absence of a foreign country's agreement to cooperate in a criminal investigation or civil litigation, U.S. prosecutors or civil litigation counsel have limited options. For this reason, transnational cooperation and collaboration is an integral component of contemporary justice systems.

For criminal proceedings, there are two primary means of obtaining evidence: a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) and a letter rogatory. For civil proceedings, there is only a letter rogatory. Evidence obtained from abroad through these tools may be presented as part of court proceedings, requiring U.S. judges to be familiar with the legal issues implicated by transnational requests for assistance. In addition, judges should be aware that diplomacy, executive agreements, and information exchange through informal communications also play an important role in transnational criminal investigations and civil litigation.

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Kerr on Bad Attempts at Art and Crime

Andrew Jensen Kerr (Peking University School of Transnational Law) has posted Bad Attempts (Emory Law Journal Online (Forthcoming)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

We assume that legal concepts are generic and indifferent to facts. But bad attempts at crime (something always unlawful) and bad attempts at art (something almost always lawful) are potentially treated very differently in many U.S. jurisdictions. Surprisingly, the bad attempt at art might be more likely to result in punishment. I draw on notions of capacity and responsibility to suggest why the amateur rapper should be excused for genuine aesthetic attempts that are perceived as threatening. In doing so, I comment on form and formalism in public law, and how principles of criminal law can help to maintain the integrity of our constitutional law doctrine.

Santos on Natural Disasters and Crime Rates

Cody Delos Santos, Esther Boyle, Petar Jevtic, and Melanie Gall (Arizona State University (ASU) - School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Arizona State Univeristy School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, Arizona State University (ASU) - School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences and Arizona State University) have posted Effects of Natural Hazards on Spatio-Temporal Patterns of (Violent) Crime in the United States on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

The consensus that disasters do not cause an increase in crime rates is receiving renewed attention. In recent years, research has emerged that challenges this consensus by positing that crime rates and the type of crime may vary depending on the phase of the emergency. To address this, this research utilizes comprehensive crime data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System and hazard event data from the Spatial Hazard Events and Losses Database for the United States. Employing regression discontinuity design principles, swaths of linear regression models across different time scales are fitted, yielding nearly 200 statistically significant coefficients. The findings reveal correlations between certain natural hazard types and changes in crime rates. For instance, a correlation between winter weather hazard events and a subsequent drop in crime rates is observed whereas severe thunderstorms were associated with an increase in crime rates. Additionally, an increase in crime rates following natural hazard events that were observed in the shorter time scales (e.g., hail, tornadoes) did not persist into the longer time scale, where, in fact, negative treatment effects and a negative change in trend were found. These results shed light on the complex relationship between natural hazards and crime rates, providing valuable insights for policymakers, law enforcement agencies, and other stakeholders. Given that the intensity and frequency of natural hazards are on the rise, a better understanding of these dynamics can increase the efficiency of resource allocation for public safety and target the deployment of law enforcement more effectively.

Weiss on Welfare State Failures and Prison Law

Samuel Weiss has posted Importing Welfare State Failures Into Prison Law (Arizona Law Review, Vol. 65, No. 741, 2023) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Norwegian prisons, often touted as the world’s most humane, rely on an “import model” for providing services. Under this model, the government agencies responsible for providing social services in the free world are responsible for providing the same inside of prisons. While the model serves a number of purposes, a main one is to demonstrate that prisons are not severed from the rest of society—people inside prison retain the same right to social services that they had outside of it.

In the United States, there is nothing to import: no right to safe housing, or education, or medical care. Incarcerated people cannot obtain these rights in the same format as their fellow Americans outside of prison because the imprisoned are the only ones who have them. Because the state has prevented them from providing for themselves, they are the only Americans with a right, for example, to medical care, even if the right only requires the state to clear the low bar of the Eighth or Fourteenth amendments.

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Cullen on The Nonexistent Speedy Trial Right

Colleen Cullen (University of Denver Sturm College of Law) has posted The Nonexistent Speedy Trial Right (Pepperdine Law Review, Vol. 51, No. 4, 2024) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

The United States Constitution and all fifty states have laws guaranteeing a speedy trial right for individuals accused of crimes. The controlling United States Supreme Court case, decided over fifty years ago, described the Sixth Amendment as a fundamental right with Fourteenth Amendment Due Process implications. While the right to a speedy trial is a universally recognized right, this Article compellingly demonstrates the right is actually nonexistent throughout the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted and exacerbated this previously unrecognized problem in courthouses across the country, which has led to the issue of the nonexistent speedy trial finally being covered by news outlets. This Article provides a groundbreaking analysis of the laws addressing the speedy trial right in all states and the federal government, reviewing all constitutions, statutes, and rules of criminal procedure. This Article is the first in legal scholarship to explore the speedy trial right without focusing on a specific jurisdiction, and it includes the first fifty-state survey on this topic. This unprecedented fifty-state survey reveals that the current laws addressing speedy trial are grossly inadequate, allowing courts to regularly and routinely deprive the accused of timely trials.

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