Decarceration and Default Mental States

2021, Online, Past Issues, Volume 53 (2021) Issue 2 (Summer)
Benjamin Levin On June 14, 2013, the House Judiciary Committee’s Overcriminalization Task Force convened a hearing on “Defining the Problem and Scope of Over-Criminalization and Over-Federalization.”1 The hearing featured testimony from four witnesses: George J. Terwilliger, III, a white-collar defense attorney and former U.S. Attorney and Acting Attorney General, William N. Shepherd of the American Bar Association, John G. Malcolm of the Heritage Foundation, and Steven D. Benjamin of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Full Article.
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Autoerotic Asphyxiation and Accidental Death Insurance: Odd Facts Make Odd Law in Circuit Split

Online, Past Issues
Mike Brown*Full Article.I. IntroductionIt was a grim scene involving a famous actor, but this was no movie. Still, there was a mystery to be unraveled. The setting was a hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand.[1] In the closet hung the lifeless body of David Carradine, star of Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” films and 1970s television show “Kung Fu.”[2] An intricate web of ropes suspended him above the floor, wrapped around his neck and genitals.[3] The door to the hotel room was locked, and there was no sign that anyone other than Carradine had been there.[4] When asked, his friends were skeptical that he would commit suicide.[5]Authorities ultimately concluded the cause of Carradine’s death was autoerotic asphyxiation,[6] defined as an intentionally induced state of asphyxia that heightens sexual arousal during masturbation.[7] It…
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The Unkindness of Fate: Why Atkins v. Virginia Warrants an Extension to Capital Defendants with a Cluster B Personality Disorder

2020, Online, Past Issues, Volume 52 (2020) Issue 4 (Winter)
By Olivia Meme** Full Article. I. Introduction. Daryl Renard Atkins never finished high school.[1] His trouble with academics began when he was held back in the second grade and continued throughout elementary and middle school, where he maintained a “D” grade average.[2] His middle school transcripts noted “he did not meet the requirements for promotion to high school.”[3] Socially, Atkins was described as a “follower” whose “limited intellect would result in ‘reduced judgments and reduced understanding of the world in general around him compared to others.’”[4] He accrued twenty-one felony convictions between the ages of thirteen and eighteen.[5] Atkins’s former teachers described him as having “a constant problem with authority, tardiness, loitering, [and] disciplinary problems.”[6] After repeating the tenth grade, Atkins was placed in a classroom meant for “slow learners,” with…
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Ag-gag in the Aftermath of Free Speech Claims: How Iowa Rewrote Its Unconstitutional Agricultural Protection Law

Online, Past Issues, Volume 52 (2020) Issue 4 (Winter)
Avery Topel* Full Article. I. Introduction The undercover investigation into Iowa Select Farms is disturbing.[1] Recordings show farm workers smashing baby piglets against a concrete floor, young animals being kicked and stomped on, and unanesthetized tail cuttings and castrations.[2] At another Iowa facility, Sparboe Egg Farms, an undercover investigation revealed hens suffering from burned beaks, open wounds, and filthy living conditions.[3] The publicized video led McDonald’s to end its relationship with Sparboe.[4] At a third Iowa farm, pigs were beaten and kicked while a supervisor instructed an undercover investigator: “You gotta beat on the bitch. Make her cry.”[5] As a result, several employees were fired and charged with animal abuse.[6] While these investigations took place on Iowa farms, similar reports can be found in dozens of states, especially those that…
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Lessons from Disaster: Assessing the COVID-19 Response in Youth Jails & Prisons*

2020, Online, Online Volume 2 (2020) COVID-19 Symposium
Madalyn K. Wasilczuk** Full Article. I.    COVID-19 in Youth Jails and Prisons A. The Spread of COVID-19 in Youth Facilities B. Responses to COVID-19 in the Juvenile Legal System C. Race and Disability Disparities in Youth Facilities During COVID-19 II.  COVID-19 as a Disaster III. Assessing the Pandemic Response In Youth Jails & Prisons A. Confined Children’s Vulnerability to the COVID Disaster B. Applying Lessons from Disaster to Children’s Conditions of Confinement Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare many of the cruel and inhumane conditions that persist in U.S. jails and prisons.[1] Headlines have highlighted the lack of access to adequate cleaning supplies and personal hygiene materials, restrictions on hand sanitizer, under-resourced medical facilities, and the costliness of phone calls and video visits for people in custody.[2] Jails,…
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Pandemic as Opportunity for Competence Restoration Decarceration*

2020, Online, Online Volume 2 (2020) COVID-19 Symposium
Susan A. McMahon** Full Article.  People are dying. We urge immediate action by the Court.[1] I.     Introduction II.  Competence Restoration Purgatory III. Impact of COVID-19 A. Pandemic as Crisis B. Pandemic as Solution IV. Next Steps and Dangers A. Deinstitutionalization Redux B. Retrenchment V.  Conclusion   I. Introduction Before the pandemic, a defendant found incompetent to stand trial was often stranded in jail for weeks or months as she waited for an inpatient bed to open at a psychiatric facility.[2] While there, she usually received no treatment, her mental health deteriorated, and she was astonishingly likely to be abused and neglected.[3] She almost certainly came out of jail in a worse state than she was when she went in. The pandemic has made this desperate situation even worse.…
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Learning from the Past and the Pandemic To Address Mental Health in Tribal Communities*

2020, Online, Online Volume 2 (2020) COVID-19 Symposium
Heather Tanana** Full Article. I.    Introduction II.  A Look at the Past To Understand the Present A. Federal Policies and the Perpetuation of Historical Trauma B. A Brief History of Mental Health and Health Services in Tribal Communities III. The Impact of COVID-19 on Tribal Communities and Response To Facilitate Mental Health Services A. COVID-19 B. Adapting To Address the Mental Health Needs of Tribes Through Telehealth Services IV. Conclusion I. Introduction The United States’ response to the coronavirus pandemic has been widely criticized.[1] The federal government failed to provide leadership and to fully appreciate the seriousness of the virus until it had reached all corners of the country. For many Americans, the lack of federal leadership may not have had a direct impact on their access to health…
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Mental Health and Vulnerable Populations in the Era of COVID-19: Containment Measures Effects on Pregnancy and Childbirth*

2020, Online, Online Volume 2 (2020) COVID-19 Symposium
Paricio del Castillo,** A. Cano Linares*** Full Article.  I.    Introduction II.  Health and Human Rights of Women A. Human Right to Health: International Protection Overview The Right to Health of Women The Increasing Attention to Mental Health Breastfeeding as a Human Rights Issue B. The Impact of COVID-19 on the Health of Women and Girls IV. The Way to Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) A. Effects of Covid-19 on Maternal Care and Its Repercussions on Mental Health The Outbreak of COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Repercussions on Maternal Care Caesarean Delivery and Induced Labor Mother-Baby Separation Discouraging Breastfeeding Perinatal Mortality B. Maternal Mental Health During COVID-19 V.  Conclusion I. Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has had, and will continue to have, a profound impact on the human rights of everyone across the…
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COVID-19 and Tribes: The Structural Violence of Federal Indian Law*

2020, Online, Online Volume 2 (2020) COVID-19 Symposium
Aila Hoss** Full Article. I.    Introduction II.  Federal Indian Law and Health Outcomes III. Federal Indian Law and COVID-19 IV. The Structural Violence of Federal Indian Law in COVID-19 Response I. Introduction Like countless other health conditions,[1] the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in inequalities.[2] People of color are experiencing not only higher rates of COVID-19 infections[3] but also worse outcomes from the infection.[4] American Indians and Alaska Natives are experiencing COVID-19 infections at higher rates than other groups across several states including Arizona,[5] New Mexico,[6]and Wisconsin.[7] The Navajo Nation, in particular, has been adversely impacted by COVID-19. As of the 2010 census, Navajo citizenship is around 300,000 people[8] although more recent numbers cite citizenship population at over 350,000.[9] The Tribe has had over 10,780 cases with 571 deaths as…
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COVID-19, Telehealth, and Substance Use Disorders*

2020, Online, Online Volume 2 (2020) COVID-19 Symposium
By Stacey A. Tovino** Full Article. I.    Introduction II.  The Changing Telehealth Regulatory Landscape A. Payment Parity B. Originating Sites C. Communication Systems D. In-Person Medical Evaluations E. Telehealth Services and Telehealth Providers F. In-State Licensure G. Privacy and Security III.  Conclusion I. Introduction A number of federal and state determinations, proclamations, statutes, regulations, executive orders, and notices of enforcement discretion (hereinafter authorities) have supported the rapid and unprecedented de-regulation of telehealth and telemedicine in the United States during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.[1] On January 31, 2020, for example, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex M. Azar II (Secretary Azar) used the authority vested in him under Section 319 of the Public Health Service Act[2] to formally determine that a public health emergency (PHE) existed in…
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