As the justices make their final preparations this week for the start of the 2025-26 term, they’ll also address the latest request for a stay of execution.   Victor Tony […]

Historical Background The history of capital punishment in the United States reflects a cycle of reform, reinstatement, and continued controversy. In 1972, the Supreme Court’s decision in Furman ...

Three former Memphis officers have been acquitted of all state charges, including second-degree murder, in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols after he ran away from a traffic stop.

The digital age has dramatically expanded how we connect, communicate, and share. Yet with these advances come new risks—especially for vulnerable individuals targeted through online platforms. ...

"Sex and Privacy in American Law presents empirical analyses of civil and criminal state court decisions applying the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Lawrence v. Texas. After tracing key historical and legal developments leading up to the Lawrence decision's decriminalization of sodomy on substantive due process grounds in 2003, the study employs both quantitative and qualitative content analyses of 307 cases citing Lawrence over the two decades since it was decided. Results indicate that judicial decisions rarely embraced broad readings of Lawrence in criminal cases. In fact, Lawrence's long-term impact on criminal law has largely remained as limited as some commentators predicted shortly after the case was decided. In civil cases, courts tended not to rely on Lawrence significantly in most business and employment law cases. Courts that applied Lawrence in family law disputes - especially those involving same-sex couples - often construed the case narrowly at first, but broadened their interpretations after Obergefell v. Hodges brought marriage equality to the United States. Lawrence also impacted LGBTQ+ civil rights claims. Statistically significant geographic differences were found relating to how courts used Lawrence in those cases, with judges in Northeastern and Pacific coastal states having applied the precedent broadly, while judges in Southern and Midwestern states tending to have applied the case more narrowly. The implications are explored generally and within the specific context of the constriction of substantive due process rights in the wake Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization."--

"Despite greater social awareness and intense media coverage of high-profile sexual assault cases, the vast majority of such crimes still go either unreported or unprosecuted. Why? The answer lies in the patchwork of laws governing such crimes and the often sexist and racist roots that underlie them. This book discusses the history of sexual violence laws, the social and media forces that drive the laws, and the progress American society has made in recognizing and punishing such behavior. The chapters cover a range of subjects including federal regulations such as Title IX and Title VII, sentencing, children and sexual violence, pornography, and evidence, as well as the evolution of legal concepts such as force and consent"--

"While many claim that being a mom is the most important job in the world, in reality, motherhood in the United States is becoming harder. From pre-conception, through pregnancy and while parenting, women are held to ever-higher standards and finding themselves punished - both socially and criminally - for failing to live up to these norms. This book uncovers how women of all ethnic backgrounds and socio-economic statuses have been interrogated, held against their will, and jailed for a rapidly expanding list of offenses such as falling down the stairs while pregnant or letting a child spend time alone in a park, actions that were not considered criminal a generation ago. While poor mothers and moms of color are targeted the most, all moms are in jeopardy, whether they realize it or not. Women and mothers are disproportionately held accountable compared to men and fathers who do not see their reproduction policed and almost never incur charges for "failure to protect." The gendered inequality of prosecutions reveals them to be more about controlling women than protecting children. Using a reproductive justice lens, Caitlin Killian analyzes how and why mothers are on a precipice and what must change to prevent mass penalization and instead support mothers and their children."--

"No comparable volume collects in one place the various rules, doctrines, policies, and ideological positions that prevent our criminal justice system from pursuing and achieving justice"--

"This book examines the representation and misrepresentation of queer people in true crime, addressing their status as both victims and perpetrators in actual crime, as well as how the media portrays them. The chapters apply an intersectional perspective in examining criminal cases involving LGBTQ people, as well as the true crime media content surrounding the cases. The book illuminates how sexual orientation, gender, race, and other social locations impact the treatment of queer people in the criminal legal system as well as the mass media. Each chapter describes one or more high-profile criminal cases involving queer people (e.g., the murders of Brandon Teena and Kitty Genovese; serial killer Aileen Wuornos; the Pulse nightclub mass shooting). The authors examine how the case(s) are portrayed in the media via news, film, podcasts, documentaries, books, social media, and more. Each chapter discusses not only what is visible or emphasized by the media, but also what is invisible in the accounting or societal focus surrounding the case. Lesser known (but similar) cases are used in the book to call attention to how race, gender, sexuality, sexual orientation, social class, and/or other features influence the dominant narrative surrounding these cases. Each chapter addresses "teachable moments" from each case and its coverage, leaving readers with several considerations to take with them into the future. The book also provides media resources and supplemental materials, so that curious readers, including scholars, students, content creators, and advocates can examine the cases and media content further. The book will appeal to scholars and students of criminology, psychology, sociology, law, media studies, sexuality studies, and cultural studies and people with an interest in true crime"--

"A sitting federal judge's recounting of six cases, to make the argument for revisiting overly punitive sentences"--

"Ordinary Injustice shows how the legal and judicial system is stacked against Latinos documenting the racial inequities in the system from the time of arrest and incarceration to final disposition and post-conviction experiences. The book chronicles the obstacles and injustices faced a young Latino student with no previous criminal record and how a simple, misdemeanor domestic violence case morphed into a very serious case with multiple felonies, and a life case without the possibility of parole"--

This book examines how those with disabilities, and in particular, the Deaf and hard-of-hearing, are impacted by the influence language and culture in policing, criminal law, and corrections. Frequently left out of policy making and research, almost no resources exist that can inform and aid law enforcement, legal, and correctional officials on culturally competent interactions with the Deaf and hard-of-hearing. As a result, this group is at a distinct disadvantage when dealing with law enforcement or the courts as well as being vastly underserved, which often lead to negative outcomes for the Deaf suspect/defendant/inmate as they attempt to interact with law enforcement and navigate the legal system. In a step-by-step presentation from arrest to incarceration each chapter will discuss a specific part of the legal system. As well as providing information on the topic, this book can serve as an important resource to the myriad of issues and difficulties that may be experiences by the Deaf suspect, defendant, or inmate, as well as by law enforcement officers, attorneys, and correctional officers. To illustrate these issues, previous cases of Deaf suspects, defendants, and inmates will be presented and discussed to clarify key issues and to provide a perspective of the problem. Each chapter dealing with these issues will also provide suggestions for more culturally competent interactions between the Deaf community and the legal system.

"Drawing on a wide range of case studies, this book provides an examination of the role of United States federal law in shaping the invocation game of police interrogation. It is essential reading for researchers and students in the fields of forensic linguistics, law and society, sociolinguistics, and discourse analysis"--