November - 2021

Nov 30, 2021
4 min

Practitioner Profile: Ayah Innab

Ayah Innab has been with Rosenberg & Fayne since she was in law school—she started as a clerk and is now the firm’s sole full-time criminal defense Associate. She explored different avenues of criminal law while in law school, working in small private firms and at federal and state public defenders. She considers public defenders to be siblings in this work but felt private practice gave her more opportunities for training and mentorship, and exposed her to more diverse cases

Knock, knock . . . who’s there: DOJ policy to limit no-knock raids

Felicia Sych

Nov 23, 2021
2 min

Knock, knock . . . who’s there: DOJ policy to limit no-knock raids

In most states, police can secure a warrant that enables them to enter a house without knocking or announcing themselves first. The element of surprise mitigates the risk that evidence will be destroyed, and it is safer for officers who believe an announcement of their presence may put them in danger—but what about safety on the other side of the door? Although police officers generally must knock and announce their presence prior to entering a house, the “war on drugs,” begi

Is the Fourth Amendment ready for the internet: Accessing the social media evidentiary goldmine

Vicky Cheng

Nov 22, 2021
4 min

Is the Fourth Amendment ready for the internet: Accessing the social media evidentiary goldmine

Digital communication traces back to as early as 1844 when Samuel F.B. Morse sent a series of dots and dashes from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore. Using electricity to send a series of codes signalling letters of the alphabet, Morse’s invention shrunk the geographical distance between people. The average American has become more than familiar with such a phenomenon since the start of the pandemic. As of April 2021, Pew Research Center reported roughly seven in ten Americans us

Impartial or ignorant? How “impartiality” is an excuse to exclude Black jurors from courtrooms

Margaret Helein

Nov 17, 2021
3 min

Impartial or ignorant? How “impartiality” is an excuse to exclude Black jurors from courtrooms

The jury has finally been selected for the trial of Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. However, it took over two weeks and a record number of jury notices to get there. Why? Maybe because the traditional notion of an “impartial juror” is becoming obsolete. And maybe it should. The jury selection process began when the Glynn County Courthouse sent out 1,000 jury notices to Georgians in the Brunswick community—a pre

Samuel Kwan

Nov 16, 2021
3 min

Facebook's criminal liability

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security on Oct. 5, 2021. Haugen accused her former employer of making deliberate choices that harmed children, public safety and democracy. The hearing received a great deal of coverage, with some lawmakers and media referring to the hearing as Facebook’s “Big Tobacco moment” for how the whistleblower testimony may bring enough attention to

Why the Alabama Supreme Court Decision in Ex parte Bohannon Violates the Constitution and Precedent

Sephora Grey

Nov 15, 2021
37 min

Why the Alabama Supreme Court Decision in Ex parte Bohannon Violates the Constitution and Precedent

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was originally published in print under the title, "'Evolving Standards of Decency' Require That a Capital Defendant Only be Sentenced to Death by a Unanimous Jury: Why the Alabama Supreme Court Decision in Ex parte Bohannon Violates the Constitution and Supreme Court Precedent" in the The Criminal Law Practitioner Volume XII, Issue I. Introduction Alabama courts have continuously held that its capital sentencing statute is constitutional, even in

Utilizing Domestic Court Systems to Address the Shortcomings of International Criminal Law

Lena Raxter

Nov 15, 2021
56 min

Utilizing Domestic Court Systems to Address the Shortcomings of International Criminal Law

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was originally published in print under the title, "Prosecution of Terrorism: Utilizing Domestic Court Systems to Address the Shortcomings of International Criminal Law" in the The Criminal Law Practitioner Volume XII, Issue I. ABSTRACT Without first agreeing to a universal definition of terrorism, it is difficult for the international community to develop a consistent system through which States may prosecute terrorism. However, from 1936 to 1981,

Letter from the editor, Volume XII, Issue I

Jordan Hulseberg

Nov 15, 2021
1 min

Letter from the editor, Volume XII, Issue I

Dear Reader, Thank you for your interest in The Criminal Law Practitioner. I am proud to share our Fall Issue with you. This fall, we have two novel and thoughtful examinations of criminal law. As our publication’s name suggests, The Criminal Law Practitioner is principally dedicated to producing helpful content for criminal law practitioners. I am confident that this issue will live up to that mission. Accordingly, each piece has included a dedicated section for practitioner

Kayla Ollendorff

Nov 8, 2021
3 min

Practitioner Profile: G. Allen Dale

Attorney G. Allen Dale currently practices criminal defense law out of his firm in Washington, D.C., but his interest in the field began when he was a child. Dale recounts growing up with only three television channels, one of which aired the show Perry Mason, a series about a distinguished criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles. This interest in criminal defense grew when Dale met his first girlfriend, whose dad was a criminal lawyer at a small firm in his hometown of Morg

Urban legends and crime: The stigmatization of mental health

Adam K. Roberts

Nov 2, 2021
4 min

Urban legends and crime: The stigmatization of mental health

Crime has always been sensational. True crime books, movies, comics, and podcasts gather huge followings. And while the overwrought prose of the penny dreadfuls has given way to the even-handed narration and soft strands of the new serials, the same audience is still waiting to be thrilled and frightened. The pub stories of Spring-Heel Jack and Sweeney Todd, similarly, have evolved into the chain letter, the email warning, and eventually the “creepypasta.” Creepypastas, etymo

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