Supreme Court, Congress and Criminal Justice Reform - Session 3 (From Conference of Criminal Justice Reform - The Proceedings, P 57-65, 1984, Patrick B McGuigan and Teresa L Donovan, ed. - See NCJ-95909)

• NCJ Number: 95912
• Author(s): W F Smith
• Editor(s): P B McGuigan, T L Donovan
• Date Published: 1984
• Length: 9 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; Free Congress Research and Education Foundation, Inc.
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Paul M Weyrich, introduction

Annotation

A transcript is provided of a conference session which focuses on areas of criminal law in which the courts have determined policy: the exclusionary rule, habeas corpus, and the insanity defense.

Abstract

In 1977 and 1978, between 45,000 and 55,000 felony and serious misdemeanor cases were dropped by prosecutors because of the exclusionary rule; reform is needed, and Congress is urged to act. The history of habeas corpus is traced, and changes in its function and character are examined. Problems with habeas corpus are identified: the most serious of these is the lack of finality engendered by habeas corpus litigation. Again, reform is urged. Attention is also focused on the insanity defense, which raises basic policy questions about the nature of criminal responsibility that are of fundamental importance to the criminal justice system. Although the number of cases involving the insanity defense is not large, the defense tends to be raised in cases of considerable notoriety. Thus, its use serves to negatively influence the public's perception of the fairness and equity of the criminal justice system. The need for some limitations on the insanity defense is emphasized. A proposal for reform is presented that would restore sciety's right, through the jury, to evaluate all the evidence in a case and determine whether any mental defect that defendants are able to show justifies a finding that they are not legally responsible for their acts.