In a Different Force
Nancy Leong 86 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1552 Highly publicized instances of law enforcement brutality, many captured on video or audio, have prompted calls for reform from many sides. Some departments have attempted to address police officers’ use of excessive force by improving the racial diversity of their departments or by appointing people of color to positions of authority. Yet policymakers... Read More
Prosecutorial Dismissals as Teachable Moments (and Databases) for the Police
Adam M. Gershowitz 86 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1525 The criminal justice process typically begins when the police make a warrantless arrest. Although police usually do a good job of bringing in the “right” cases, they do make mistakes. Officers sometimes arrest suspects even though there is no evidence to prove an essential element of the crime. Police also conduct unlawful... Read More
Evidence-Informed Criminal Justice
Brandon L. Garrett 86 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1490 The American criminal justice system is at a turning point. For decades, as the rate of incarceration exploded, observers of the American criminal justice system criticized the enormous discretion wielded by key actors, particularly police and prosecutors, and the lack of empirical evidence that has informed that discretion. Since the 1967 President’s... Read More
The Pendulum of Criminal Justice Since 1967
The Honorable Patti B. Saris 86 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1472 On the fiftieth anniversary of the report by President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society, Chief Judge Patti B. Saris of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts and former Chair of the United... Read More
On the Docket’s Preview of the December Supreme Court Arguments
December 3 Dawson v. Steager No. 17-419, W. Va. Preview by Samuel E. Meredith, Senior Online Editor West Virginia does not collect tax on some kinds of retirement benefits given to former state law enforcement officials. The state does not, however, extend this same tax relief to retired federal law enforcement personnel. The question presented by... Read More
Public Consensus as Constitutional Authority
Richard Primus 78 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1207 Barry Friedman’s new book The Will of the People attempts to dissolve constitutional law’s countermajoritarian difficulty by showing that, in practice, the Supreme Court does only what the public will tolerate. His account succeeds if “the countermajoritarian difficulty” refers to the threat that courts will run the... Read More
Fulfilling Government 2.0’s Promise with Robust Privacy Protections
Danielle Keats Citron 78 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 822 The public can now friend the White House and scores of agencies on social networks, virtual worlds, and video-sharing sites. The Obama Administration sees this trend as crucial to enhancing governmental transparency, public participation, and collaboration. As the President has underscored, government needs to tap into... Read More
Duplicative Foreign Litigation
Austen L. Parrish 78 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 237 What should a court do when a lawsuit involving the same parties and the same issues is already pending in the court of another country? With the growth of transnational litigation, the issue of reactive, duplicative proceedings—and the waste inherent in such duplication—becomes a more common... Read More
Against Certification
Justin R. Long 78 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 114 Certification is the process whereby federal courts, confronted by an open question of state law in federal litigation, ask the relevant state high court to decide the state law question. If the state high court chooses to answer, its statement of state law stands as the definitive declaration of the law... Read More
On the Docket’s Preview of the November Supreme Court Arguments
November 5 Sturgeon v. Frost No. 17-949, 9th Cir. Preview by Clay Wild At issue in this case is whether the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (“ANILCA”) prohibits the National Park Service (“NPS”) from regulating State, Native Corporation, and private land located within the National Park System in Alaska. In 2007, NPS rangers found... Read More