criminal — Online Journal — Columbia Undergraduate Law Review

By living and aging in the United States, many Americans assume the goodness, the neutrality, and rationality of law. Some even judge the morality of others based on their adherence to these legal regulations, without critiquing the merits or source of the law itself. Others recognize that some laws unequivocally create unjust worlds and resist them actively. Few, however, question the very nature of law as a systemic means of regulating and organizing the social Normative, arising not from objective and liberal ‘truth’, but from “a human desire for reliability and pattern that protects a finite being from a chaotic world.”

Pagona KytzidisMay 23, 2019theory, violence, supreme court, criminal, normativity Comment

Restricted Knowledge on Jury Nullification and its Repercussions

Jury nullification is evidently a power exercised by jurors. The question remains how jurors can become informed of this right without facing legal punishments for attempting to influence a jury. Today, because of unclear and incomprehensive rulings on jury nullification, citizens have been arrested and charged with jury tampering when informing jurists of their de facto right to question a law.

Natalia VasylykMay 23, 2019jury nullification, criminal, supreme court, federal, constitutional lawComment

Rap in the Courtroom: Evaluating the Implications of State of New Jersey v. Vonte L. Skinner

Law enforcement’s animosity towards rap and its refusal to recognize the genre as a complex artistic endeavor can likely be traced to racial prejudices. On one hand, law enforcement views rap negatively because this music directly threatens their authority. On the other hand, multiple studies have demonstrated that rap music “primes the negative culturally held stereotype of urban Blacks.”

JiHoon KoMay 23, 2019rap, state, race, criminal, evidenceComment

Locked Away for Life: Juvenile Life Without Parole in the American Criminal Justice System

While the Miller and Montgomery rulings have put the state of juvenile life without parole sentences under heavy scrutiny, their effects have not been uniform across the country. Although states such as Iowa and Kansas have deemed life without parole sentences as unconstitutional and have even limited mandatory minimum sentences for juveniles, twenty-nine states have maintained their rights to these inhumane sentences. I

Tanya ReynaJanuary 9, 2019criminal justice, supreme court, eighth amendment, juvenile, criminalComment