Introduction It is commonly said that the state holds a monopoly on criminal punishment.[1] In operation, however, that monopoly power is wielded almost entirely by the executive while the legislative and judicial branches rarely intervene. Legislative enactments provide nearly unlimited grounds for arrest and prosecution and thus confer enormous authority on law enforcement while exerting […] Continue Reading >
False Accuracy in Criminal Trials: The Limits and Costs of Cross-Examination
False Accuracy in Criminal Trials: The Limits and Costs of Cross-Examination
I. Cross-Examination in Culture and Courtrooms A. The Mythology of Cross-Examination The expansive catalogue of trial movies features many marquee scenes of cross-examination—moments when a defense lawyer exposes unjust prosecution tactics or conclusively establishes their client’s innocence. Faced down by unlikely heroes such as Vincent LaGuardia Gambini (in My Cousin Vinny) or Elle Woods (in […] Continue Reading >
Big Data Searches and the Future of Criminal Procedure
Misdemeanor Declination: A Theory of Internal Separation of Powers
Big Data Searches and the Future of Criminal Procedure
Introduction Arsonists set ablaze a home shared by three sleeping Senegalese immigrant families one early morning in a Denver neighborhood.[1] Five members of a family burned to death, including parents Djibril (“Djibby”) and Adja Diol, their two-year-old daughter, Djibby’s sister Hassan, and Hassan’s infant daughter.[2] The unsolved murders haunted the region’s Senegalese immigrant community with […] Continue Reading >
False Accuracy in Criminal Trials: The Limits and Costs of Cross-Examination