Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L
➤ Gửi thông báo lỗi ⚠️ Báo cáo tài liệu vi phạmNội dung chi tiết: Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L
Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L
University of Michigan Journal of Law ReformVolume 442010Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal LawJohn L. DiamondUniversity Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L of California. Hastings College of the LawFollow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.umich edu/mjlrÒ* Part of the Criminal Law Commons, and the Public Law and Legal Theory CommonsRecommended CitationJohn L. Diamond, Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal La Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Lw. 44 u Mich. J, L.Reform 1 (2010).Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjlr/vol44/iss1 /1This Article is brought to you for free and open aReviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L
ccess by the University of Michigan Journal of Lav/ Reform at University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for incluUniversity of Michigan Journal of Law ReformVolume 442010Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal LawJohn L. DiamondUniversity Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Lformation, please contact mlaw repository@umich eduREVIVING LENITY AND HONEST BELIEF AT THE BOUNDARIES OF CRIMINAL LAWJohn L. Diamond’It is a common misconception that there is a line between criminal and innocent conduct that is transparent and fixed, in fact, much of criminal law is fluid and elas Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Ltic, fret, if strategically applied, to label conduct as legal or illegal. In some cases, this reflects crimes that are vaguely defined or imprecise.Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L
In other cases, the prohibited conduct simply includes what is JO conventionally accepted as legal that the criminal label « perceived as inapplicableUniversity of Michigan Journal of Law ReformVolume 442010Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal LawJohn L. DiamondUniversity Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Ltral to the application of the stale’s imposition of criminal sanctions. This Article illustrates, by core examples, how elastic the application of the criminal law can be. It considers remedies that will protect against both good and bad faith abuse without sacrificing the legitimate and central ro Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Lle of prosecutorial discretion. In particular the Article argues for a reinvigoration of the rule of lenity and for the incorporation of the English rReviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L
equirement of dishonesty m theft crimes.IntroductionIt is a common misconception that there is a line between criminal and innocent conduct that is trUniversity of Michigan Journal of Law ReformVolume 442010Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal LawJohn L. DiamondUniversity Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Lome cases, this reflects crimes that are vaguely defined or imprecise. In other cases, the prohibited conduct simply includes what is so conventionally accepted as legal that the criminal label is perceived as inapplicable until a prosecutor chooses to apply itThe problem of a fluid rather than fixe Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Ld line for criminality is that prosecutorial discretion becomes central to the application of the state’s imposition of criminal sanctions. The recentReviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L
congressional investigations concerning the potential politicization ofProfessor of Law, University of California, Hastings College of the Law; B.A.,University of Michigan Journal of Law ReformVolume 442010Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal LawJohn L. DiamondUniversity Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Liting provided by Michael p. Murtagh, Michael R. Portanova, and Mehriar Sharifi and the outstanding manuscript preparation by Divina J. Morgan. I would also like to thank Lucia M. Diamond for her insightful contributions.1.See generally Henry M. Hart, Jr., 77» Aims of the Criminal Law, 2'3 Law & Con Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Ltemp. Probs. 401, 417 (1958) (arguing that criminal law serves several complex and interwoven social purposes).12University of Michigan Journal of LawReviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L
Reform[Vol. 44:1United States Attorney’s offices put die problem in a darker light.’ If criminal prosecution is politically motivated and existing stUniversity of Michigan Journal of Law ReformVolume 442010Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal LawJohn L. DiamondUniversity Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L placed in jeopardy. Indeed, “(a]s much as our society expects prosecutors to be unaffected by politics in their efforts to seek justice, it is impossible to ignore the fact diat they occupy their positions because the political system put them there.”* This problem is aggravated by a cottage indust Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Lry of political consultants whose effects on behalf of their candidate can be sưongly enhanced by catching the opposing candidate committing some crimReviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L
inal wrongdoing.While prosecutorial bad faith, where defendants are targeted for political reasons, can easily be condemned if proven, the problem is University of Michigan Journal of Law ReformVolume 442010Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal LawJohn L. DiamondUniversity Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Lenerally not criminalized where other factors motivate zealousness. Indeed, this later assertion, unlike the politicization of die prosecutorial process, can itself be challenged. How can it be overzealous to catch die true bad guy and to be creative and aggressive in one’s efforts? Some would argue Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L that it is here where good balanced prosecutorial discretion can and even should sưetch the criminal law to punish and deter criminality that would oReviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L
therwise evade appropriate sanctions.This Article proceeds as follows. In Part I, I will illustrate, by core examples, how elastic die application of University of Michigan Journal of Law ReformVolume 442010Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal LawJohn L. DiamondUniversity Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Licity, namely, that crimes become vaguely defined by unclear private policies and that the criminal label can potentially be applied in a politically biased manner. In Part II, I will consider remedies that will prevent both good and bad faith abuse without sacrificing die legitimate and central rol Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Le of prosecutorial discretion. In particular, I will argue for a reinvigoration of the rule of lenity as a statutory interpretation canon and for incoReviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L
rporadon of the English requirement of dishonesty in theft crimes. As I will argue later, die American system of justice—and indeed its polidcal freedUniversity of Michigan Journal of Law ReformVolume 442010Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal LawJohn L. DiamondUniversity Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Lt Justice Dept., N.Y. Times. June 25, 2008, http://www.nytimes.coin/2008/06/25/wa.shington/24cndjustice.hunl (reporting on the increasingly political hiring practices at the Justice Department).3.Sandra Caron George. Prosecutorial Discretion: What's Politics Got to Do with M, 18 Geo.J. Legal Ethics Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L739, 751 (2005).Fall 2010]Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief3I. Ambiguous CriminalityThis Part illustrates the ambiguity inherent in many crimes. It isReviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L
not an exhaustive survey of criminal law, but it focuses on certain crimes that can be particularly susceptible to worrisome expansion: embezzlement,University of Michigan Journal of Law ReformVolume 442010Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal LawJohn L. DiamondUniversity Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Lway of notice to the accused because they are based on vague definitions of acceptable private conduct, encompass conduct commonly viewed as legitimate, and pose a grave danger of being politically motivated.A. The Ambiguity of TheftMuch public corruption and criminal prosecution for nonviolent crim Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Les focuses on theft, die criminal acquisition of property. At their origin, theft crimes were very limited, focusing on violent (robbery) and non-violReviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal L
ent (larceny) taking of property of another with intent to deprive permanently. Other equivalent theft crimes have since then brought more elasticity University of Michigan Journal of Law ReformVolume 442010Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal LawJohn L. DiamondUniversity Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal Lating pillars of industry' and society.4 5 On the other side of the line are the criminal thieves and worse.1. Embezzlement: Vaguely, Privately Defined Crimes Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal LUniversity of Michigan Journal of Law ReformVolume 442010Reviving Lenity and Honest Belief at the Boundaries of Criminal LawJohn L. DiamondUniversityGọi ngay
Chat zalo
Facebook