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Cardozo Law Review

Abstract

The substance of modem criminal law and the procedures through which that law is enforced are a subject of current debate. On the one hand, some call into question the use of criminal sanctions as a means of enforcing schemes of regulation meant to guarantee public welfare. By the same token, violent crime and crime that is otherwise malum in se has caused increasing levels of fear and concomitant calls for more vigorous enforcement of the criminal law. As a result, the rights that protect the accused from intrusions by a potentially tyrannical state and from arbitrary decision making by the state are under fire. The resolution of criminal cases by jury verdict, especially unanimous jury verdict, is questioned. The right of those convicted to appeal their sentences is viewed as a hindrance to certainty of punishment, and their right to challenge the terms of their punishment is viewed as a hindrance to the effectiveness of punishment as well as to societal retribution. Calls for harsh sentences resound, including those for the death penalty and for corporal punishment.

Keywords

Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law and Procedure, Punishment, Penology, Slavery, Race and Ethnicity Issues, Trials, Legal Practice and Procedure, Verdicts, Evidence, Exclusionary Rule, Constitutional Law, Criminal Contempt, Crimes Against Justice, Fourth Amendment

Disciplines

Constitutional Law | Criminal Law | Criminal Procedure | Evidence | Fourth Amendment | Law | Law and Race

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