The criminal justice system in a social justice society would look very different from the current system

I learned my most important lessons about criminal justice reform more than 30 years ago while working on what has become known as the Attica Prison rebellion. The Attica Prison rebellion took place in September 1971 in the maximum security prison in upstate New York. Led by prisoners with a broad social justice agenda, the prisoners’ demands were focused on basic human rights, including the right to organise, the right to be free from abuse from prison guards and the right to basic living conditions – health and sanitary conditions among others. The rebellion was ended when then Governor Nelson Rockefeller sent in state troopers to retake the prison by force, resulting in the death of 39 prisoners and prison guards. A political and legal struggle to defend prisoners charged in the uprising ensued, eventually resulting in the dismissal of the charges against the prisoners. In 2000, the people who had been prisoners at Attica during the 1971 rebellion were awarded an $8m settlement from the State of New York.     

Domestic violence and criminal justice training needs of social services workers

Domestic violence is a multifaceted problem that requires various agencies to work together to serve victims. Among other agencies that are involved in this collaborative effort, criminal justice officials must work with social services workers to ensure that cases are handled effectively. At the root of this collaborative effort, it is natural to question whether various parties have the knowledge needed to effectively respond to specific cases of domestic violence. In this study, attention was given to whether social workers possessed enough knowledge about various aspects of domestic violence, including information required to process domestic violence cases in the criminal justice system. In all, 186 social services worker supervisors in the Commonwealth of Virginia were asked to rate the level of knowledge they believed social services workers had regarding specific domestic violence topics with the level of knowledge workers they believed social workers needed regarding each domestic violence topic. Findings suggested that social services workers might have more problems dealing with the interpersonal nature of domestic violence cases than they do with the legal issues. At the same time, the supervisors suggested the workers knew less about specific legal options than they needed to know. Based on this, the authors suggest changes in training for all human services workers, including criminal justice officials and social workers.     

Critical justice consciousness: Social injustice and the criminal justice system

In this essay I examine the importance of social justice to my identity and the changing interpretation of my “justice consciousness” resulting from changes in my work life. Drawing on my academic experience as well as my experience as an attorney, I describe the meaning that social justice has for me. I also examine the connections that I see between social injustice and the operation of the critical justice system.     

Developments in criminal law and criminal justice

LL.B., Victoria University of Wellington 1969; J.S.M., Stanford University 1972.     

Developments in criminal law and criminal justice

Conclusion It follows from what has been said above that history, principle, and authority combine to compel the conclusion that § 80's guarantee of trial by jury precludes a verdict of guilty being returned in a trial upon indictment of an offence against a law of the Commonwealth otherwise than by the agreement or consensus of all the jurors. That being so, § 57 of the Juries Act, 1927, cannot, consistently with § 80, operate to authorize the conviction of either of the appellants by a majority verdict. Their convictions were unconstitutional and must be set aside.The appeal should be allowed. The orders of the South Australian Court of Criminal Appeal should be set aside and in lieu thereof it should be ordered, in the case of each appellant, that the appeal to that court be allowed, that the conviction be quashed and a new trial ordered.B.A., Columbia University 1972; J.D., Hofstra University 1975.     

Developments in criminal law and criminal justice

Developments in criminal law and criminal justice     

Impulse control and criminal responsibility: lessons from neuroscience

Almost all of the world's legal systems recognize the "M'Naghten" exception to criminal responsibility: the inability to appreciate the wrongfulness of action. This exception rests on the assumption that punishment is morally justified only if the defendant was able to choose whether to do wrong. Jurists and jurisdictions differ, however, on whether to extend M'Naghten's logic to cases where the defendant understood the wrongfulness of an act but was incapable of resisting an impulse to commit it. In this article I ask whether contemporary neuroscience can help lawmakers to decide whether to adopt or retain this defense, known variously as the "irresistible impulse" defense or the "control" or "volitional" test for insanity. More specifically, I ask firstly, whether it is empirically true that a person can understand the wrongfulness of an act yet be powerless to refrain from committing it; and second (assuming an affirmative answer to the first), whether the law of criminal responsibility can practically accommodate this phenomenon? After canvassing the relevant neuroscientific literature, I conclude that the answer to the first question is "yes." After examining the varied treatment of the defense in the United States and other nations, I also give an affirmative answer to the second question, but only in limited circumstances. In short, the defense of irresistible impulse should be recognized, but only when it can be shown that the defendant experienced a total incapacity to control his or her conduct in the circumstances.     

Extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction: Its impact on criminal justice

Public international law recognizes the right of states to protect themselves and their subjects against threats and damage from within their territory and outside. In the international sphere, the means and methods of national protection are restricted by the extraterritorial jurisdiction of courts and the laws they enforce.Criminal justice today is being confronted on an ever increasing scale by international criminal offenses that impinge on domestic concerns: drugs, securities and financial manipulations, money laundering, and terrorism, to mention only a few. This article discusses some of the issues that arise under the United States Constitution when criminal justice agencies are called upon to enforce U.S. laws beyond U.S. territorial limits. The principles of extraterritorial jurisdiction are discussed along with a number of United States court cases pointing to the importance of this new area of criminal justice.     

Contraband and violence: lessons from the Southeast Asian case

This article looks at the intersection between contraband and violence in Southeast Asia. I argue that the two activities are often linked and play off one another in specific, contextualized ways. To make this case, I examine instances of smuggling in the history of the region; through the trade in human beings, both historically and today; through the transit of narcotics, again historically and today; and via the conduit of a range of other contraband cargoes. Race, religion, memory and geography all factor into the outcome of when smuggling may take on violent forms. I chronicle these occasions throughout the width and breadth of the region, stretching from the Thai/Burmese border in the north to the island world of Insular Southeast Asia in the south. Throughout the essay, I pay particular attention to the larger milieus of commerce, politics, and society that condition moments when acts of smuggling may in fact turn violent. **NB: Most of the field-research for this piece (including local newspaper article accumulation) was done in the late 1990s under a Fulbright grant. A subsequent Faculty Fulbright in 2004 supplemented much of this earlier research, and also allowed me to travel to a number of other locales to make observations on this topic.

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Citizenship, mental illness, and the criminal justice system

The concept of citizenship in regard to persons with mental illness has gained increasing attention in recent years, but little empirical research has been conducted on this topic. In addition, little research or conceptual writing has been done on the topic of criminal justice in regard to citizenship for people with mental illness, in spite of the high incidence of criminal charges and incarceration among this group. We review our work on an applied theoretical framework of citizenship, including its origins in mental health outreach work to people who are homeless and in a jail diversion program. We then suggest the contribution the framework can make to the intersecting issues of mental illness, its criminalization in the U.S., and the goal of community integration for people with mental illness.     

Regulating the criminal justice snooper

Existing and anticipated restrictions on the conducting of social research present several opportunities and problems for criminal justice researchers. After reviewing those restrictions, the admittedly controversial techniques of covert and concealed research are used to show how restrictions may influence the direction criminal justice research follows in the coming years. A devil's advocate role is taken and covert and concealed research is championed in order to encourage academicians and practitioners to be both aware and wary of external restrictions on the conducting of social research.     

Under construction: Brain formation, culpability, and the criminal justice system

Should adolescents be held as culpable for their behavior as adults? Adolescence is a tumultuous time, full of change and transformation. This paper examines the development of brain functions and cognitive capabilities of teenagers. It explores the effect of alcohol use on brain development and the fundamental cognitive differences between adolescents and adults. This knowledge, coupled with the assessment of developmental perspective, suggests that the adultification of youth (or waiver to adult court) is unduly harsh for youth whose brains have not fully formed.     

Drugs, markets and criminal justice in Poland

Since 1989 drug situation in Poland has changed considerably. First, Polandhas become a major European producer of synthetic drugs. Second, it has becomea major transit country for smuggling drugs. Third, while its drug markets arenot yet fully developed, they offer now a much broader selection of drugs thanthe pre-1989 staple drug, the home-made ``Polish heroin'. Despite some alarmabout a growing drug problem, Polish drug policies remained for many years primarily public health oriented. The recent drug law reforms may signify, however, a shift towards a more punitive approach. This paper explores theconditions surrounding the emergence of both new markets and new controlstrategies.