Sentencing Policies and Practices in the 21st Century focuses on the evolution and consequences of sentencing policies and practices, with sentencing broadly defined to include plea bargaining, judicial and juror decision making, and alternatives to incarceration, including participation in problem-solving courts. This collection of essays and reports of original research explores how sentencing policies and practices, both in the United States and internationally, have evolved, explores important issues raised by guideline and non-guideline sentencing, and provides an overview of recent research on plea bargaining in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Other topics include the role of criminal history in sentencing, the past and future of capital punishment, strategies for reducing mass incarceration, problem-solving courts, and restorative justice practices. Each chapter summarizes what is known, identifies the gaps in the research, and discusses the theoretical, empirical, and policy implications of the research findings. The volume is grounded in current knowledge about the specific topics, but also presents new material that reflects the thinking of the leading minds in the field and that outlines a research agenda for the future. This is Volume 4 of the American Society of Criminology's Division on Corrections and Sentencing handbook series. Previous volumes focused on risk assessment, disparities in punishment, and the consequences of punishment decisions. The handbooks provide a comprehensive overview of these topics for scholars, students, practitioners, and policymakers.

This book explores the recent development of the Supreme People's Court of China, the world's largest highest court. Recognizing that its approach to exercising power in an authoritarian context has presented a challenge to the understanding of judicial power in both democratic and non-democratic legal settings, it captures the essence of the Court through its institutional design as well as functional practice. It argues that regardless of the deep-seated political and institutional constraints, the Court has demonstrated a highly pragmatic interest in fulfilling its primary functions and prudently expanding judicial power in the context of reform-era China. This notwithstanding, it also discusses how the Court's incompetence and reluctance to challenge the bureaucratism and politicization suggests that the call for an impartial and authoritative judicial power will continue to be jeopardized while the Court operates in the shadow of Party authority and lacks meaningful checks and balances. Drawing on the experience of the Court, this book reflects on some deep-rooted misunderstandings of legal development in China, providing a source of inspiration for reconceptualizing the internal logic of a distinct category of judicial power.

It is often asserted that 'A family that prays together, stays together'. But what if a child no longer wishes to pray? This book analyses the law in relation to situations where parents force their children to manifest the parental religion. From thorough examination of international law it argues that, unlike what is generally believed, the human rights regime does not grant parents a right to impose manifestations of their religion on their children. Instead, the author proposes to regard coerced manifestations as a limitation on children's right to freedom of manifestation, based on national laws that give parents rights at the domestic level under principles such as parental responsibility. The book focuses on two aspects of States' positive obligations in this regard. First, the obligation to provide a regulatory framework that can protect children's right to freedom of manifestation, and restricts limitations to those that are proportionate or 'necessary in a democratic society'. Second, to provide access to remedies, which it is argued should consist of access to a family-friendly infrastructure for dispute resolution available to parents and children in conflict over religious manifestation. Both depend heavily on the way States balance power between parents and children at the national level. The book includes three case studies and social research of jurisdictions that offer different perspectives under the principles of parental authority (France), parental responsibility (England) and parental rights (Hong Kong).

The study and teaching of international human rights law is dominated by the doctrinal method. A wealth of alternative approaches exists, but they tend to be discussed in isolation from one another. This collection focuses on cross-theoretical discussion that brings together an array of different analytical methods and theoretical lenses that can be used for conducting research within the field. As such, it provides a coherent, accessible and diverse account of key theories and methods. A distinctive feature of this collection is that it adopts a grounded approach to international human rights law, through demonstrating the application of specific research methods to individual case studies. By applying the approach under discussion to a concrete case it is possible to better appreciate the multiple understandings of international human rights law that are missed when the field is only comprehended though the doctrinal method. Furthermore, since every contribution follows the same uniform structure, this allows for fruitful comparison between different approaches to the study of our discipline.

In recent times the question of private sector involvement in public affairs has become framed in altogether new terms. Across Europe, there has been a growth in various forms of public-private cooperation in building and maintaining (new) penal institutions and an increasing presence of private companies offering security services within penal institutions as well as delivering security goods such as electronic monitoring and other equipment to penal authorities. Such developments are part of a wider trend towards privatising and marketising security. Bringing together key scholars in criminology and penology from across Europe and beyond, this book maps and describes trends of privatising punishment throughout Europe, paying attention both to prisons and community sanctions. In doing so, it initiates a continent-wide dialogue among academics and key public and private actors on the future of privatisation in Europe. Debates on the privatisation of punishment in Europe are still underdeveloped and this book plays a pioneering and agenda-setting role in developing this dialogue.

This edited volume presents the work of academics from the Global South and explores, from local and regional settings, how the legal order and people's perceptions of it translates into an understanding of what constitutes "criminal" behaviors or activities. This book aims to address the gap between criminal law in theory and practice in the Global South by assembling 11 chapters from established and emerging scholars from various underrepresented regions of the world. Drawing on research from Singapore, the Philippines, Peru, Indonesia, India, the Dominican Republic, Burma, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Argentina, this book explores a range of issues that straddle the line between social deviance and legal crimes in such societies, including extramarital affairs, gender-based violence, gambling, LGBT issues, and corruption. Issues of inclusivity versus exclusivity, modernity versus tradition, globalization of capital versus cultural revivalism are explored. The contributions critically analyze the role politics and institutions play in shaping these issues. There is an urgent need for empirical studies and new theoretical approaches that can capture the complexity of crime phenomena that occur in the Global South. This book will provide essential material to facilitate the development of new approaches more suitable to understanding the social phenomena related to crime in these societies. This book will make an important contribution in the development of Southern criminology. It will be of interest to students and researchers of criminology and sociology engaged in studies of sentencing and punishment, theories of crime, law and practice, and postcolonialism.

This book presents an ethnography of dispute processing by non-state forums and actors in rural India. As such it sheds light on a much neglected and contested topic. Arising in the context of recent legal and political debates that question the legitimacy of non-state actors engaged in dispute processing, the book explores the nature, form, and functioning of such forums and actors in two locations in rural India. Focusing on a fishermen's community belonging to the caste of Hindu Machimar Kolis in coastal Maharashtra and an agrarian community in Uttarakhand with members from the Pandit, Thakur, Bhotia, and Harijan caste groups, this study shows the manner in which non-state forums and actors engage with state law and its regulatory systems.

Originally published in 1991, The Case for the Prosecution examines the entire process of arrest through to conviction.

There is a broad consensus that 1937 marked a turning point in the history of the Supreme Court. This is the first comprehensive treatment of the Court's decision-making in the civil liberties/civil rights sphere in the years preceding that watershed. Professor Braeman refutes the widely held assumption that the post-1937 justices were writing upon a largely blank slate in dealing with civil liberties/civil rights issues, arguing instead that much of what the Modern Court has done, when viewed in a long-term perspective, appears as incremental expansions of precedents laid down by the Old Court.

While the vast majority of criminal and civil lawyers must at some time come into contact with a forensic mental health evaluation, either when requested by their side or by opposing counsel, most do not know enough about the practice to be informed consumers. Forensic assessments can vary widely based on the assessor's personal preferences, and while there are clearly defined "best practices" for most evaluations, there is no official process by which legal professionals can guarantee these practices are being followed.
Designed to meet the specific needs of lawyers, Forensic Assessments in Criminal and Civil Law: A Handbook for Lawyers provides insight into what to expect from forensic mental health evaluations and how to navigate these assessments with skill and competence. The volume is divided into sections by evaluation type: criminal, civil, and juvenile and family evaluations. Each chapter addresses one of the most commonly requested forensic evaluations and is written by a forensic psychologist with both academic and professional experience with that type of evaluation. Specific evaluation types discussed include competence to stand trial in adults and juveniles, criminal responsibility, violence risk in adults, jury selection, eyewitness identification, personal injury claims, civil commitment, workplace disability, child custody, juveniles' risks and needs, and more. This handbook is a comprehensive, one-stop resource for lawyers, judges, and other legal professionals seeking to further their knowledge of forensic assessments.

Motherhood after Incarceration: Community Reintegration for Mothers in the Criminal Legal System explores the relationships of women with their children immediately after periods of incarceration. The analysis draws on in-depth interviews with 39 women who are mothers and who had recently been released in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area. Using data collected from these interviews, the authors address three interrelated questions: (1) How does incarceration affect mother/child bonds? (2) What obstacles interfere with successful reintegration of these mothers into the community? (3) Do mothers who regain immediate custody of their children after incarceration reintegrate better than those with delayed (or no) resumption of child custody? Implications of these findings for policy are explored. The research results demonstrate the struggles justice-involved mothers experience over time as they seek to reintegrate into the community and resolve their relationships with their children, while also struggling with employment, housing, family relationships, and avoiding situations that might ultimately lead to recidivism. The authors suggest that policies for reducing recidivism among reentering women should provide more resources for housing, childcare, mental health, and job training and coaching. Further, there are often behavioral and emotional repercussions associated with the lengthy separation of mother and child, which highlights the need for parenting support for these mothers and their children, including social and emotional counseling, and resources directed toward the maintenance of family ties. This book's detailed look at motherhood after incarceration, both for mothers with custody and without, will appeal to academics, policy makers, community advocates and activists, and undergraduate and graduate students in social science courses on correctional policy, gender and crime, and social work.

Although the concept of precedent is basic to the operation of the legal system, there has not yet been a full-length empirical study of why U.S. Supreme Court justices have chosen to alter precedent. This book attempts to fill that gap by analyzing those decisions of the Vinson, Warren, and Burger courts, as well as the first six terms of the Rehnquist Court--a span of forty-seven years (1946-1992)--that formally altered precedent. The authors summarize previous studies of precedent and the Court, assess the conference voting of justices, and compile a list of overruling and overruled cases.

Drawing on extensive research from Australia, this book examines the experiences of sexual offence victims who submit a victim impact statement. Victim impact statements are used in sentencing to outline the harm caused to victims. There has been little research on the impact statement experiences of sexual offence victims. This book fills this gap, examining the perspectives of six adult female victims and 15 justice professionals in Australia. This is supplemented by analysis of 100 sentencing remarks, revealing how courts use such statements in practice. This book examines victims' experiences of preparing and submitting statements, justice professionals' experiences of working with victims to submit statements, and the judicial use of impact statements in sentencing. It identifies an overarching lack of clarity around the purpose of impact statements, which affects the information that can be included and the way they can be used by the court. It consequently explore issues associated with balancing the expressive and instrumental purposes of such statements, and the challenges in communication between professionals and victims of crime. The findings highlight several issues with the operation of impact statement regimes. Based on these findings, the book makes recommendations to clarify such regimes, to improve communication between justice professionals and victims of crime, and to enhance the therapeutic goals of such statements. An accessible and compelling read, this book is essential reading for all those engaged with victimology, sentencing, and sexual violence.

Through further technological development and increased globalization, conducting busines abroad has become easier, especially for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). However, the legal issues associated with international commerce have not lessened in complexity, including the role of non-state rules. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of non-state rules in international commercial contracts. Non-state rules have legal authority in the national and international sphere, but the key question is how this legal authority can be understood and established. To answer this question this book examines first what non-state rules are and how their legal authority can be measured, it then analyses how non-state rules are applied in different scenarios, including as the applicable law, as a source of law, or to interpret either the law or the contract. Throughout this analysis three other important questions are also answered: when can non-state rules be applied? when are they applied? and how are they applied? The book concludes with a framework and classification that leads to a deeper understanding of the legal authority of non-state rules. Providing a transnational perspective on this important topic, this book will appeal to anyone researching international commercial law. It will also be a valuable resource for arbitrators and anyone working in international commercial litigation.

This book is an in-depth study of EU judicial language and its impact on the language of national judges. It is the first comprehensive study of the judicial variety of the Polish Eurolect. The book applies the intertextual relation of textual fit and corpora of EU and Polish judgments to empirically measure the linguistic distance between translations and non-translations. It analyzes both the level of genre macrostructure and the microstructure (lexis and grammar, formulaicity, terminology). This interdisciplinary monograph explores a distinct European, translation-shaped variety of judicial language which departs from the conventions of judicial Polish. The volume is essential reading for researchers in legal linguistics, legal translation and genre analysis.

Based on a reading of contemporary philosophical arguments, this book accounts for how punishment has provided audiences with pleasure in different historical contexts. Watching tragedies, contemplating hell, attending executions, or imagining prisons have generated pleasure, according to contemporary observers, in ancient Greece, in medieval Catholic Europe, in the early-modern absolutist states, and in the post-1968 Western world. The pleasure was often judged morally problematic, and raised questions about which desires were satisfied, and what the enjoyment was like. This book offers a research synthesis that ties together existing work on the pleasure of punishment. It considers how the shared joys of punishment gradually disappeared from the public view at a precise historic conjuncture, and explores whether arguments about the carnivalesque character of cruelty can provide support for the continued existence of penal pleasure. Towards the end of this book, the reader will discover, if willing to go along and follow desire to places which are full of pain and suffering, that deeply entwined with the desire for punishment, there is also the desire for social justice. An accessible and compelling read, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, philosophy and all those interested in the pleasures of punishment.

Linguists and lawyers from a range of countries and legal systems explore the language of the law and its participants, beginning with the role of the forensic linguist in legal proceedings, either as expert witness or in legal language reform. Subsequent chapters analyze different aspects of language and interaction in the chain of events from a police emergency call through the police interview context and into the courtroom, as well as appeal court and alternative routes to justice.

Kok-Chor Tan addresses three key questions in egalitarian distributive justice: Where does distributive equality matter?; Why does it matter?; And among whom does it matter? He argues for an institutional site for egalitarian justice, and suggests that the mitigation of arbitrariness or luck is the basis for distributive commitments. He also argues that distributive obligations are global in scope, applying between individuals across borders. Tan's objectives are tripartite: to clarify the basis of an institutional approach to justice; to establish luck egalitarianism as an account of the ground of equality; and to realize the global nature of egalitarian justice. The outcome is 'institutional luck egalitarianism'-a new cosmopolitan position on distributive justice.

This innovative volume examines the nexus between war crimes trials and the pursuit of collaborators in post-war Asia. Global standards of behaviour in time of war underpinned the prosecution of Japanese military personnel in Allied courts in Asia and the Pacific. Japan's contradictory roles in the Second World War as brutal oppressor of conquered regions in Asia and as liberator of Asia from both Western colonialism and stultifying tradition set the stage for a tangled legal and political debate: just where did colonized and oppressed peoples owe their loyalties in time of war? And where did the balance of responsibility lie between individuals and nations? But global standards jostled uneasily with the pluralism of the Western colonial order in Asia, where legal rights depended on race and nationality. In the end, these limits led to profound dissatisfaction with the trials process, despite its vast scale and ambitious intentions, which has implications until today.

There has been a recent increase in clashes between warships asserting rights to navigate and states asserting sovereignty over coastal waters. This book argues for a set of rules which respect the rights of coastal states to protect their sovereignty and of warships to navigate lawfully, whilst also outlining the limits of each. The book addresses the issue of the clash between warships and states by considering the general principles applying to use of force in the law of the sea and the law of national self-defence. It focuses on the right of coastal states to use force to prevent passage of warships which threaten their sovereignty, with particular reference to the specific maritime zones, as well as by warships to ensure passage or to defend themselves. The book also assesses the extent to which the law of armed conflict may be applicable to these issues. The conclusion draws together a set of rules which take account of both contemporary and historical events and seeks to balance the competing interests at stake. Providing a concise overview of the enduring issue of freedom of navigation, this book will appeal to anyone studying international law, the law of the sea, security studies and international relations. It will also be of interest to naval, coast guard and military officers as well as government legal advisors.

This original approach to value provides a foundation for a new imaginative landscape in philosophy of law. "Value essentialism" identifies value formations such as a sacred cow and scapegoat tandem and the intensification of "oughtness" as it approaches sacred zenith values. Readers learn how Occam's razor has been responsible for the death of many ideas; how the celebrated Other gains nuance as near and remote; and where a spectral assessment of probability and necessity leads. Analyses of Supreme Court cases grow out in different and exciting directions. Bell was not about eugenics, but another iteration of the value of efficiency and Yo Wick was as much about classism as it was about racism. Lochner involved not an ideological binary but three distinct value schemes. "Separate but equal" was refined as parallelism and exploitative tangents. In Brown, the Fourteenth Amendment took a significant subjective turn. In Heller, the communitarian position of stopping violence before it could start could be contrasted with the individualistic position of waiting until you see the whites of their eyes in your bedroom. Citizens United represented the best example of this axiological approach, raising the question: was the First Amendment designed to maximize participation or maximize democracy?

The volume describes and analyzes how the costs of litigation in civil procedure are distributed in key countries around the world. It compares the various approaches, draws general conclusions from that comparison, and presents global trends as well as common problems and solutions. In particular, the book deals with three principal questions: First, who pays for civil litigation costs, i.e., to what extent do losers have to make winners whole? Second, how much money is at stake, i.e., how expensive is civil litigation in the respective jurisdictions? And third, whose money is ultimately spent, i.e., how are civil litigation costs distributed through mechanisms like legal aid, litigation insurance, collective actions, and success oriented fees? Inter alia, the study reveals a general trend towards deregulation of lawyer fees as well as a substantial correlation between the burden of litigation costs and membership of a jurisdiction in the civil and common law families.

This study is the result of the XVIIIth World Congress of Comparative Law held under the auspices of the International Academy of Comparative Law.

This book contains the first major comparative study of litigation costs and methods of funding litigation in more than 30 jurisdictions. It was linked with the most comprehensive review of costs ever carried out in England and Wales by Lord Justice Jackson in 2009 and benefited from the assistance of leading practitioners around the globe. The study analyses the principles and rules that relate to paying courts, witnesses and lawyers, and the rules on cost shifting, if any. It also notes the major ways in which litigation can be funded, identifying the global trend on contraction of legal aid, the so far limited spread of contingency fees, and the growing new phenomenon of private third party litigation funding. The study also presents the results of nine case studies of typical claim types, so as to give a first overview comparison of which countries' legal systems are cheaper or more expensive. The book further contains national chapters with in depth analysis contributed by scholars in 18 jurisdictions (Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, England & Wales, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan and USA) and a further chapter on Latin American jurisdictions. 'Dr Hodges, Professor Vogenauer and Dr Tulibacka have conducted an excellent and thorough comparative study of litigation costs and funding across a wide range of jurisdictions ('the Oxford study'). The Oxford study is important, because it provides both context and background for any critical examination of our own costs and funding rules... I commend this book both for its breadth and detail and also for its percipient commentary. This work will make a valuable contribution to the debate which lies ahead about how the costs and funding rules of England and Wales should be reformed in order to promote access to justice.' From the Foreword by Lord Justice Jackson, Royal Courts of Justice, 16th July 2010

This book details possible ethical situations and pitfalls that forensic psychiatric experts would commonly encounter when making a court testimony. Richly illustrated with cases from medicine, psychiatry, and law, this elegantly written volume examines the common moral ground that links these usually separate domains, and relates forensic ethics to larger concepts of morality and justice.

This book presents practical advice to law students and those entering and now working in the legal profession that will help them to reconcile who they are as a person with the demands and opportunities of a legal career. The book sets out a clear framework and practice examples for: (i) defining "success", (ii) understanding the role of a professional in relation to clients, colleagues, adversaries and community, (iii) reconciling demands of practice within ethical rules and norms, business considerations and personal values and (iv) building a values-centered, economically viable practice and reputation. Complete with practical advice and experiences that produce and reinforce a holistic approach, this book provides invaluable support for second- and third-year law students and lawyers in practice to establish elusive work-life balance over the course of a legal career.