Reducing Mass Incarceration: Implications of the Iron Law of Prison Populations

by TODD R. CLEAR and JAMES AUSTIN
Beginning in the 1970s, the United States embarked on a three-decade long shift in its penal policies. In these years, state and federal governments tripled the percentage of convicted …

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The Case for Viral Citizenship
The Case for Viral Citizenship

by TEJINDER SINGH
John Sexton, President of New York University, astutely describes today’s public sphere as a “coliseum culture that reduces discourse to gladiatorial combat. Viewpoints are caricatured in their most absolute form, with …

Presenting a “Strong Basis in Evidence”: How Lawyers Should Use Statistics to Shape the Impact of Ricci v. DeStefano on Title VII Litigation
Presenting a “Strong Basis in Evidence”: How Lawyers Should Use Statistics to Shape the Impact of Ricci v. DeStefano on Title VII Litigation

by JASON M. SZANYI and KATARINA GUTTMANNOVA
This past term, in Ricci v. DeStefano,[1] the Supreme Court reshaped employment discrimination litigation. In a decision that garnered significant notoriety both for its potential impact on the future …

The Problematic Presidential Pardon: A Proposal for Reforming Federal Clemency
The Problematic Presidential Pardon: A Proposal for Reforming Federal Clemency

by JONATHAN T. MENITOVE
Shortly after 9:30 a.m. on January 15, 2009, Senator Patrick Leahy gaveled the Senate Judiciary Committee to order. Seated before the Committee was Eric Holder, then President-elect Barack Obama’s nominee to become …

REAL ID: The Devil You Don’t Know
REAL ID: The Devil You Don’t Know

by GEOFFREY D. KRAVITZ
One of the principal recommendations of The 9/11 Commission Report suggested that the federal government implement standards for identification cards to combat terrorism. In 2005, Congress responded by passing the REAL ID …

Gentrification’s Third Way: A Analysis of Housing Policy & Gentrification in Providence
Gentrification’s Third Way: A Analysis of Housing Policy & Gentrification in Providence

by MATTHEW JERZYK
This article examines gentrification in the national housing market and, more specifically, in Providence, Rhode Island and the recent development debate in Providence’s poorest neighborhood, Olneyville. While both national and local commentators have …

Is Everyone Else Doing It? Indiana’s Voter Identification Law in International Perspective
Is Everyone Else Doing It? Indiana’s Voter Identification Law in International Perspective

by FREDRIC CHARLES SCHAFFER and TOVA ANDREA WANG
Since the passage of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) in 2002, requiring people to present identification to vote has become one of the most controversial and divisive …

Supporting Advisory Guidelines

by JUDGE NANCY GERTNER
At first glance, advisory sentencing guidelines may seem wholly unrelated to the problem with which this Issue is concerned—the unprecedented and failed experiment in mass incarceration. But the link is stronger than …

Cease Fire: A “Win-Win” Strategy on Gun Policy for the Obama Administration
Cease Fire: A “Win-Win” Strategy on Gun Policy for the Obama Administration

by ALLEN ROSTRON
In the months leading up to Election Day in 2008, Americans faced a steady stream of gloomy economic news. Around the world, stock markets tumbled. Leading companies in the financial sector collapsed or …

Integrative Solutions to Interrelated Issues: A Multidisciplinary Look Behind the Cycle of Incarceration

by NKECHI TAIFA and CATHERINE BEANE
Over two million people are currently incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails. This number is not only staggering but unprecedented—both in the United States and among industrialized nations across the …

After Guantanamo: War, Crime, and Detention
After Guantanamo: War, Crime, and Detention

by MADELINE MORRIS with FRANCES A. EBERHARD and MICHAEL A. WATSULA
Two days after taking the oath of office, President Barack Obama issued an executive order mandating the closure of the Guantanamo detention facility within one …

A Cold Day in Apprendi-land: Oregon v. Ice Brings Unknown Forecast for Apprendi’s Continued Vitality in the Capital Sentencing Context
A Cold Day in Apprendi-land: Oregon v. Ice Brings Unknown Forecast for Apprendi’s Continued Vitality in the Capital Sentencing Context

by G. BEN COHEN, BIDISH SARMA, and ROBERT J. SMITH
When Charles Apprendi fired two .22 caliber gunshots into the home of the first African-American family to move into a previously all-white New Jersey neighborhood, he …

Against Gridlock: The Viability of Interest-Based Legislative Negotiation

by GREGORY BRAZEAL
The wide cast of characters whose behavior shapes the creation of federal laws in the United States, from congressional leaders to committee chairs, from lobbyists to constituents, from the President to the media, …