Articles Posted in Criminal Law and Justice

A quarterly journal published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc. on behalf of the American Bar Foundation.

Law & Social Inquiry is a multidisciplinary quarterly that publishes original research articles and wide-ranging review essays that contribute to the understanding of sociolegal processes.
Law & Social Inquiry’s combination of empirical and theoretical research with critique and appraisal of the sociolegal field make the journal a useful source for the latest research and commentary. Law & Social Inquiry’s ambit spans law and sociology, criminal justice,economics, political science, social psychology, history, philosophy and other social science and humanities disciplines. The journal publishes a wide range of scholarship on specific topics in law and society, including but not limited to law, legal institutions, the legal profession, and legal processes.

Below is a message, useful to law librarians and others, from the current Chair of the ABA Criminal Justice Section. It includes information about new books and some discussion about publication activities within the Section :

Message from the Chair:

The Criminal Justice Section is comprised of a number of committees charged with the responsibility of addressing a broad array of criminal law topics. While each committee tends to focus on issues related to their special interest, when needed they all work in unison to make clear that we serve as the voice of criminal justice in the nation.

April 27 – May 1, 2009
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U.S. Supreme Court, April 28, 2009 Cone v. Bell, No. 07-1114 In a capital habeas proceeding, the denial of Petitioner’s habeas petition is reversed where the state courts’ rejection of Petitioner’s Brady v. Maryland claim did not rest on a ground that barred federal review, and the lower courts failed to adequately consider whether the allegedly withheld evidence was material to Petitioner’s sentence. .

U.S. Supreme Court, April 29, 2009 Kansas v. Ventris, No. 07-1356 The state supreme court’s reversal of defendant’s burglary conviction is reversed where the state obtained a confession from a confidential informant but defendant’s statement to the informant, concededly elicited in violation of the Sixth Amendment, was admissible to impeach his inconsistent testimony at trial.

U.S. Supreme Court, April 29, 2009 Dean v. US, No. 08-5274 Defendant’s firearm conviction is affirmed where defendant claimed he unintentionally fired his gun during a robbery, but 18 U.S.C. section 924(c)(1)(A)(iii) requires no separate proof of intent, and its 10-year mandatory minimum applies if a gun is discharged in the course of a violent or drug trafficking crime, whether on purpose or by accident.
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“The Response”, a movie based on an actual transcript of a military tribunal hearing at Guantanamo Bay, has been selected by the American Bar Association (ABA) as the 2009 ABA Silver Gavel Award winner for “drama and literature”. It was made in collaboration with the University of Maryland School of Law and funded through its “Linking Law & Arts Program,” with support from the France-Merrick Foundation and Venable LLP.

Full Article: http://www.oea.umaryland.edu/communications/news/?ViewStatus=FullArticle&articleDetail=6275

Update from the Lexis Alert Service,

April 29, 2009.

1. People v. Jackson, 195, 3988/04, SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT, 2009 NY Slip Op 2450; 874 N.Y.S.2d 908; 2009 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 2503, March 31, 2009, Decided, March 31, 2009, Entered, THE LEXIS PAGINATION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE PENDING RELEASE OF THE FINAL PUBLISHED VERSION., THIS OPINION IS UNCORRECTED AND SUBJECT TO REVISION BEFORE PUBLICATION IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS.
The People of the State …
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Bonnie G. Wittner, …

2. People v. Orta, 138, 2762/07, SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT, 2009 NY Slip Op 2239; 874 N.Y.S.2d 856; 2009 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 2416, March 24, 2009, Decided, THE LEXIS PAGINATION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE PENDING RELEASE OF THE FINAL PUBLISHED VERSION., THIS OPINION IS UNCORRECTED AND SUBJECT TO REVISION BEFORE PUBLICATION IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS.
The People of the State …
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Rena K. Uviller, …

3. People v. Anonymous, 61, 1831/05, SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT, 2009 NY Slip Op 1855; 874 N.Y.S.2d 856; 2009 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 1850, March 17, 2009, Decided, THE LEXIS PAGINATION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE PENDING RELEASE OF THE FINAL PUBLISHED VERSION., THIS OPINION IS UNCORRECTED AND SUBJECT TO REVISION BEFORE PUBLICATION IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS.
The People of the State …
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Anthony Ferrara, J.), …

4. People v. Goodson, 87, 2590/06, SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT, 2009 NY Slip Op 1870; 874 N.Y.S.2d 856; 2009 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 1860, March 17, 2009, Decided, THE LEXIS PAGINATION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE PENDING RELEASE OF THE FINAL PUBLISHED VERSION., THIS OPINION IS UNCORRECTED AND SUBJECT TO REVISION BEFORE PUBLICATION IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS.
The People of the State …
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Charles H. Solomon, …
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In response to litigation brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Obama administration authorized the Justice Department to release four secret legal memoranda used by the Bush administration to justify torture. The memoranda were releasd on April 16, 2009. President Obama also issued a statement, emphasizing that “this is a time of reflection, not retribution”.

Ali Soufan, a former FBI agent who was involved in the interrogations being discussed and who questioned Abu Zubaydah in 2002 has written an important Op Ed article, “My Tortured Decision”, which is published in the April 23, 2009 New York Times. In his article Mr. Soufan says trhat Abu Zubaydah provided important intelligence under traditional methods. He writes: “…I questioned him [Zubaydah] from March to June 2002, before the harsh techniques were introduced late in August. Under traditional interrogation methods, he provided us with important actionable intelligence”. Mr. Soufan also writes that he believes that it was the “right decision” to release the memos because “we need the truth to come out” and that releaseing these memos “enables us to begin the tricky business of finally bringing these terrorists to justice”.

Since the events being discussed transpired during the administration of George W. Bush, we thought it might be interesting and instructive to also provide a link to: Reigning in the Imperial Presidency, Lessons and Recommendations Relating to the Presidency of George W. Bush.; a report prepared by the majority staff of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.

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