scholarly journals Understanding the Burden of Legal Financial Obligations on Indigent Washingtonians

2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Maria Katarina E. Rafael ◽  
Chris Mai
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Public Defender ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Financial Obligations ◽  
Collection Practices ◽  
Disproportionate Burden ◽  
Do So

In criminal courts across the country, judges assess a variety of fines, fees and other legal financial obligations (LFOs) that many defendants struggle to pay. This paper examines the disproportionate burden that fine and fee assessment and collection practices impose on low-income, system-involved individuals, using administrative court data for criminal cases filed in Washington’s courts of limited jurisdiction between 2015 and 2020. The authors find that the majority of defendants do not or only partially pay their LFOs, but that these observations are more pronounced for indigent defendants. The authors also find that, of defendants who fully pay off their fines and fees, individuals with a public defender satisfy their debt after a greater number of days, as compared to individuals with private counsel. This is all in spite of public defender defendants generally being assessed smaller amounts in fines and fees at the outset. Additionally, the authors uncover that when defendants do pay off all of their fines and fees, they tend to do so on the day of assessment, with the likelihood of satisfying full payment generally decreasing as time goes on. These findings suggest that many people struggle with criminal justice debt, but that this problem disproportionately impacts indigent Washingtonians, subjecting them to a greater possibility of harm through the various methods of collections enforcement.

Benchmarking the use of audiovisual link technologies in Australian criminal courts before the pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Smith ◽  
Rebecca Savage
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
Criminal Cases

This report is the second published by the AIC arising from its national video courts research program (the AVL Project) and documents the development and implementation of AVL (audiovisual link) technologies in the criminal courts in Australia, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019. An accompanying report assesses the practical and legal considerations that need to be taken into account when adopting AVL technologies in the criminal courts (Smith, Savage & Emami 2021). In 2017, 196 criminal cases in the largest states were observed by AIC researchers in person for the purposes of documenting the operation of systems in practice. Although there is some variability in the maturity of AVL systems in different jurisdictions, it is clear that they now occupy a central role in the administration of criminal justice throughout Australia—particularly since the onset of the pandemic. This report identifies a number of advantages and limitations of the technologies used and offers some practical solutions that could help to make systems more efficient and fairer for all involved.

Neuroethics

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Morse
Keyword(s):  
Legal Theory ◽  
Civil Liberty ◽  
Functional Brain Imaging ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Normal Functioning ◽  
Scientific Status ◽  
Life Issues ◽  
End Of Life Issues ◽  
Do So

This chapter discusses whether the findings of the new neuroscience based largely on functional brain imaging raise new normative questions and entail normative conclusions for ethical and legal theory and practice. After reviewing the source of optimism about neuroscientific contributions and the current scientific status of neuroscience, it addresses a radical challenge neuroscience allegedly presents: whether neuroscience proves persons do not have agency. It then considers a series of discrete topics in neuroethics and neurolaw, including the “problem” of responsibility, enhancement of normal functioning, threats to civil liberty, competence, informed consent, end-of-life issues, neuroevidence in criminal cases, and the ethics of caution. It suggests that the ethical and legal resources to respond to the findings of neuroscience already exist and will do so for the foreseeable future.

scholarly journals Penegakan Hukum Pidana Terhadap Anak Yang Terjerat Perkara Pidana Melalui Diversi (Studi Di Polrestabes Medan)

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-84
Author(s):  
Akalafikta Jaya ◽  
Triono Eddy ◽  
Alpi Sahari
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Criminal Liability ◽  
Criminal Case ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Criminal Convictions ◽  
Criminal Offenses ◽  
The Law

In the past, the punishment of children was the same as the punishment of adults. This causes the psychological condition of children ranging from investigation, investigation and trial to be disturbed because it is often intimidated by law enforcement agencies. Under these conditions, Law No. 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Justice System was born. One of the reforms in the Child Criminal Justice System Law requires the settlement of a child criminal case by diversion. Based on the results of research that the conception of criminal offenses against children in conflict with the law in Indonesia is different from criminal convictions to adults. Children are given the lightest possible punishment and half of the criminal convictions of adult criminal offenses. That criminal liability for children who are ensnared in a criminal case according to the Law on the Criminal Justice System for Children is still carried out but with different legal sanctions from adults. Criminal imprisonment against children is an ultimumremedium effort, meaning that criminal imprisonment against children is the last legal remedy after there are no other legal remedies that benefit the child. That the concept of enforcement of criminal law against children caught in criminal cases through diversion is in fact not all have applied it. Some criminal cases involving children as the culprit, in court proceedings there are still judges who impose prison sentences on children who are dealing with the law.

scholarly journals Neurolaw in Australia: The use of neuroscience in Australian criminal proceedings

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armin Alimardani ◽  
Jason Chin
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Common Sense ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Fitness To Stand Trial ◽  
Objective Evidence ◽  
The Mind

Recent research has detailed the use of neuroscience in several jurisdictions, but Australia remains a notable omission. To fill this substantial void we performed a systematic review of neuroscience in Australian criminal cases. The first section of this article reports the results of our review by detailing the purposes for which neuroscience is admitted into Australian criminal courts. We found that neuroscience is being admitted pre-trial (as evidence of fitness to stand trial), at trial (to support the defence of insanity and substantial impairment of the mind), and during sentencing. In the second section, we evaluate these applications. We generally found that courts admit neuroscience cautiously, and to supplement more well-established forms of evidence. Still, we found some instances in which the court seemed to misunderstand the neuroscience. These cases ranged from interpreting neuroscience as “objective” evidence to admitting neuroscience when the same non-neuroscientific psychiatric evidence would be inadmissible for being common sense. Furthermore, in some cases, neuroscientific evidence presents a double-edged sword; it may serve to either aggravate or mitigate a sentence. Thus, the decision about whether or not to tender this evidence is risky.

The readiness of various communities for the implementation of restorative justice in the community setting: A perspective of community organization

2018 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 386-398
Author(s):  
Taufik Mohammad
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Restorative Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Community Organization ◽  
Community Setting ◽  
Offender Rehabilitation ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Criminal Cases

The method of community organization can be used to implement restorative justice within the community. This study aimed at understanding whether members from seven communities in Malaysia would assume responsibility for restorative justice initiatives, accept various elements of restorative justice, and welcome offenders back into the community. The findings are mixed. Some community members believed that the community setting may offer resources for offender rehabilitation that the criminal justice system does not have; others raised concerns over various limitations such that communities may not be equipped to deal with criminal cases.

Explorations in Intersectional Policymaking

2020 ◽  
pp. 119-146
Author(s):  
Beth Reingold
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Urban Communities ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Women Of Color ◽  
Mass Incarceration ◽  
State Legislators ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Democratic State ◽  
Boys Of Color ◽  
Policy Arenas

Chapter 5 explores the concept of intersectional policymaking further by examining closely the content of legislation sponsored by a small subset of Democratic state legislators serving majority-minority constituencies in California, New Jersey, and Texas in 1997 and 2005. What might intersectional policymaking look like and who practices it? The analysis uncovers a wide variety of intersectional proposals, spanning multiple policy arenas and addressing many different problems arising from multiple, intersecting forms of inequality and marginalization. Particularly notable are measures concerning the health and welfare of women of color, immigrants, and others often disproportionately located within low-income communities, as well as criminal justice measures taking on issues of over-policing and mass incarceration that disproportionately affect men and boys of color in similar low-income, urban communities. Most lawmakers in this subsample sponsor at least one intersectional bill, but women of color stand out as the most reliable practitioners of intersectional advocacy.

The Politics of the Judiciary

2020 ◽  
pp. 206-228
Author(s):  
Mike McConville ◽  
Luke Marsh
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Judicial Independence ◽  
The Political ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Political Character ◽  
Held Back

A foundational theme of this chapter is the refutation of the generalized claim that judges are ‘independent’ and free from political influence. In reconsidering the institutional realities of judicial independence, it contests the views and theories advanced by leading commentators whom have sought to show that judges are ‘political’, not least Professor J A G Griffith in his seminal, The Politics of the Judiciary. Other theorists considered include Alan Paterson, Robert Stevens, David Robertson, and Harry Annison. The chapter critically reviews the strengths and weaknesses of such theories and demonstrates instead how the ‘political’ character of judges may be explicated by empirical data drawn from internal governmental files rather than previously favoured methodologies. Contrary to these widely adopted accounts, this chapter posits that throughout the last century, a cadre of senior judges in criminal cases have been overtly political in a way previously not understood. Senior judges, it is argued, have had a dynamic involvement in building state institutions and state ideology: working in secret with the executive in formulating policing policies, initiating far-reaching change in the political economy of criminal justice, and setting the agenda for successive legislative interventions, underpinned by a state bias, having held back rights for suspects and defendants and commandeered the process of subjugating the Bar.

Institutional Expression

2020 ◽  
pp. 165-249
Author(s):  
Carsten Stahn
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Speech Act Theory ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
International Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
Mutual Learning ◽  
Expressive Meaning ◽  
Institutional Action

The chapter demonstrates that the very act of reacting to atrocities, and institutionalization itself, has expressive meaning. Institutions rely on symbolism, rituals, and mimetic practices in order to ensure their own survival. This also applies to international criminal courts and tribunals. Sometimes the ‘medium is the message’. Throughout history, the establishment of institutions has sent different signals, such as memory and remembrance, shame and apology, renewal of community relations, hope and belief or protest. International criminal justice relies on action. Speech act theory is helpful to understand the various meanings of institutional action. Acts, such as jurisdictional determinations (e.g. complementarity), preliminary examinations or investigations, arrests, or cooperation create new narrative subjects, entail commands or incentives for action, or convey attitudes. Outreach and legacy strategies involve strong didactic rationales. They are often more geared towards one-sided expression rather than two-way communication or mutual learning

Politics, Power, and Money

2021 ◽  
pp. 98-118
Author(s):  
Sandro Galea
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
Public Health Infrastructure ◽  
The Us ◽  
Data Informed ◽  
Disproportionate Burden ◽  
Trump Administration

This chapter investigates how politics and power shape health outcomes, with special emphasis on how these forces intersect with economic inequality and the disproportionate burden of sickness experienced by low-income populations. During the spread of COVID-19, American political leadership faced a test of its ability to respond to sudden crisis. Rising to such a difficult occasion requires detailed plans for what to do in such a scenario, robust public health infrastructure, and leadership which takes decisive, data-informed action, listening to experts and communicating clearly and consistently with the public. Tragically, COVID-19 found the United States lacking in all these areas. Political leaders are in a position to mold public opinion, nudging the public mind towards new ways of thinking. The precise term for this is “shifting the Overton window.” By helping to mainstream a cavalier attitude towards COVID-19, the Trump administration shifted the Overton window towards greater acceptance of behaviors which create poorer health. The chapter then looks at the failure to adequately address race in the US. Among the factors that shape health, the area of race is particularly sensitive to political dynamics.

12. Hearsay in criminal cases

2020 ◽  
pp. 349-411
Author(s):  
Adrian Keane ◽  
Paul McKeown
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter discusses the meaning of hearsay in criminal proceedings and the categories of hearsay admissible by statute in such proceedings. It considers the relationship between the hearsay provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (the 2003 Act) and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights as it relates to hearsay; the definition of hearsay and its admissibility under the 2003 Act, including admissibility under an inclusionary discretion (section 114(1)(d)); and safeguards including provisions relating to the capability and credibility of absent witnesses, the power to stop a case and the discretion to exclude. Also considered in this chapter are: expert reports; written statements under section 9 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967; and depositions of children and young persons under section 43 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.

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