Laws | March 2015 - Browse Articles

377 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Examining the Conservative Shift from Harsh Justice

by Joycelyn Pollock, Steven Glassner and Andrea Krajewski

Laws 2015, 4(1), 107-124; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws4010107 - 19 Mar 2015

Viewed by 6601

Recently, a political shift has been observed, in that some political conservatives are now advocating, adjusting, or abandoning draconian drug laws, including mandatory minimums, and funding diversion, re-entry, and drug programs. Vocal proponents of this movement include Grover Norquist, Rand Paul, Edwin Meese, [...] Read more.

Recently, a political shift has been observed, in that some political conservatives are now advocating, adjusting, or abandoning draconian drug laws, including mandatory minimums, and funding diversion, re-entry, and drug programs. Vocal proponents of this movement include Grover Norquist, Rand Paul, Edwin Meese, and Mark Levin, from the Texas Public Policy Council. Any movement away from the mass incarceration that has characterized the U.S. correctional policy for the last 30 years is welcomed; however, it is important to note carefully the philosophical foundation of the conservative’s interest in shifting correctional policy. This paper explores the potential factors contributing to this philosophical shift. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rough Justice: Penal Sanctions, Human Dignity, and Human Rights)

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194 KiB

Open AccessArticle

USP Marion: A Few Prisoners Summon the Courage to Speak

by Stephen C. Richards

Laws 2015, 4(1), 91-106; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws4010091 - 03 Feb 2015

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 7417

Abstract

USP Marion is the first supermax federal penitentiary. Marionization refers to the experimental control program used at this prison. The prisoners speaking in this article suffered many years of solitary confinement. This research brief discusses some of what they experienced in their own [...] Read more.

USP Marion is the first supermax federal penitentiary. Marionization refers to the experimental control program used at this prison. The prisoners speaking in this article suffered many years of solitary confinement. This research brief discusses some of what they experienced in their own words. These are the recollections of a few Marion prisoners that have summoned the courage to speak out and share their darkest memories. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rough Justice: Penal Sanctions, Human Dignity, and Human Rights)

174 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Uneasy Marriage between Law and Equality

by Pauline C. Westerman

Laws 2015, 4(1), 82-90; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws4010082 - 02 Feb 2015

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4133

Abstract

There are two ways in which the social ideal of equality has found expression in the law: in the principle of equal treatment and in the principle of non-discrimination. In this article the meaning of these two legal principles is analysed, in order [...] Read more.

There are two ways in which the social ideal of equality has found expression in the law: in the principle of equal treatment and in the principle of non-discrimination. In this article the meaning of these two legal principles is analysed, in order to answer the question to what extent they can be said to contribute to equality in the sense of an equal distribution of collective resources. It is argued that whereas the first just requires decision-making to be rule-based, the second principle demands that rules should be based on sound categorical distinctions. Neither of the two can, however, sensibly be linked to equality as equal distribution. The article concludes that the only way to establish such a link is by adding to the principle of non-discrimination “financial resources” as a suspect ground. Full article

233 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Electronic Monitoring Paradigm: A Proposal for Transforming Criminal Justice in the USA

by Stuart S. Yeh

Laws 2015, 4(1), 60-81; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws4010060 - 27 Jan 2015

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 9365

Abstract

This article proposes a change in public policy that promises to greatly reduce major crime in the United States, protect society, eliminate prison overcrowding, and save taxpayer dollars. This policy would employ electronic monitoring (EM) technology in a way that discourages individuals who [...] Read more.

This article proposes a change in public policy that promises to greatly reduce major crime in the United States, protect society, eliminate prison overcrowding, and save taxpayer dollars. This policy would employ electronic monitoring (EM) technology in a way that discourages individuals who might otherwise be tempted to commit crimes. The approach is arguably more effective, efficient, humane and ethical than any alternative strategy and potentially could revolutionize law enforcement and the American criminal justice system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rough Justice: Penal Sanctions, Human Dignity, and Human Rights)

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247 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Supported Decision-Making for People with Cognitive Impairments: An Australian Perspective?

by Terry Carney

Laws 2015, 4(1), 37-59; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws4010037 - 23 Jan 2015

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 7726

Abstract

Honouring the requirement of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to introduce supported decision-making poses many challenges. Not least of those challenges is in writing laws and devising policies which facilitate access to formal and informal supports for large numbers [...] Read more.

Honouring the requirement of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to introduce supported decision-making poses many challenges. Not least of those challenges is in writing laws and devising policies which facilitate access to formal and informal supports for large numbers of citizens requiring assistance with day-to-day issues such as dealing with welfare agencies, managing income security payments, or making health care decisions. Old measures such as representative payee schemes or “nominee” arrangements are not compatible with the CRPD. However, as comparatively routine social security or other government services become increasingly complex to navigate, and as self-managed or personalised budgets better recognise self-agency, any “off the shelf” measures become more difficult to craft and difficult to resource. This paper focuses on recent endeavours of the Australian Law Reform Commission and other local and overseas law reform and policy initiatives to tackle challenges posed both for ordinary citizens and those covered by special programs (such as Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme and “disability trusts” in Australia and Canada). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Competency and Capacity: Issues Affecting Health Law, Policy and Society)

260 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reframing Risqué/Risky: Queer Temporalities, Teenage Sexting, and Freedom of Expression

by Lara Karaian and Katherine Van Meyl

Laws 2015, 4(1), 18-36; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws4010018 - 14 Jan 2015

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 9354

Abstract

Canada recognizes young people’s constitutionally protected freedom of expression and consequently their right to engage in a narrow subset of consensual sexually expressive practices without being prosecuted as child pornographers. Nevertheless, numerous anti-sexting campaigns decry the possibility of voluntary and “safe sexting” let [...] Read more.

Canada recognizes young people’s constitutionally protected freedom of expression and consequently their right to engage in a narrow subset of consensual sexually expressive practices without being prosecuted as child pornographers. Nevertheless, numerous anti-sexting campaigns decry the possibility of voluntary and “safe sexting” let alone the affordances of adolescents’ self-produced and consensually shared sexual imagery. In this article, we argue that these actors have erred in their construction of youths’ risqué imagery as inherently risky and thus governable. We propose that anti-sexting frameworks—which conflate consensual and nonconsensual sexting and which equate both with negative risks that purportedly outweigh the value and benefits of the practice—rely on a calculus that is fundamentally flawed. This article consists of two main parts. In Part I, we map and trouble the ways in which responses to consensual teenage sexting emphasize the practice’s relationship to embodied, financial, intimate and legal risks. In Part II, we suggest that research examining consensual adolescent sexting and young people’s rights to freedom of expression consider alternative theoretical frameworks, such as queer theories of temporality, when calculating the risk of harm of adolescent sexual imagery. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technology, Social Media and Law)

107 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Laws in 2014

by Laws Editorial Office

Laws 2015, 4(1), 16-17; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws4010016 - 08 Jan 2015

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3298

Abstract

The editors of Laws would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2014:[...] Full article

194 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Study of Torture: Why It Persists, Why Perceptions of It are Malleable, and Why It is Difficult to Eradicate

by Erin M. Kearns

Laws 2015, 4(1), 1-15; https://doi.org/10.3390/laws4010001 - 25 Dec 2014

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 11355

Abstract

Why does torture persist despite its prohibition? Scholars, policymakers, and the public have heavily debated this topic in the past decade. Yet, many puzzles remain about the practice of torture. Scholarship on torture spans academic disciplines, which adds diversity in perspectives brought to [...] Read more.

Why does torture persist despite its prohibition? Scholars, policymakers, and the public have heavily debated this topic in the past decade. Yet, many puzzles remain about the practice of torture. Scholarship on torture spans academic disciplines, which adds diversity in perspectives brought to these questions but also can lead to redundancy and stunted progress in research on the issue as a whole. This article assesses the state of the multidisciplinary literature on torture in counterterrorism with specific focus on why democracies torture despite prohibiting it, how public perception of torture is malleable, and why so few countries are able to move from commitment to compliance in the prohibition of torture. In each section, the article also identifies underexplored areas in the research and suggests avenues for future investigation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rough Justice: Penal Sanctions, Human Dignity, and Human Rights)

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Laws, Volume 4, Issue 1 (March 2015) – 8 articles , Pages 1-124

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