Abstract: Despite the fact that each state has statutes that punish domestic violence, the federal government intervened in 1994 with the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The Senate is now expected to consider the newest reauthorization of the act—S. 1925—which includes radical changes that…
On Tuesday, March 20, the Supreme Court hears oral argument in two cases involving the constitutionality of sentences of life without parole (LWOP) for teenage murderers. The real issue before the Court is this: Will the Court again “find” or “invent” a heretofore undiscovered constitutional prohibition and thus strike an…
Abstract: From the ever-expanding number of federal criminal laws to prison sentences that are too numerous or too long, there are many promising bases for criticizing overcriminalization. One such basis, however, has yet to be fully considered: the fact that too many criminal offenses today are malum prohibitumoffenses—that is, they…
Testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security December 13, 2011 Edwin Meese IIIChairman, Center for Legal & Judicial StudiesThe Heritage…
For fiscal year 2012, the House Appropriations Committee recommended $357 million for the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program (H.R. 2596). Byrne JAG grants, administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), can be used by state and local governments for 29 broad criminal justice purposes, including funding pretrial…
Testimony before the Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism of the United States Senate July 19, 2011 Introduction …
Abstract: Just before Christmas 2009, 11-year-old Sarah Haley Foxwell was brutally raped and murdered by a convicted high-risk sex offender, Thomas J. Leggs. Although Leggs was classified as a high-risk offender in Delaware, because of inconsistencies in sex offender classification between states, Maryland identified…
Abstract: Many aspects of the terror threat—from communication between terrorist groups to recruitment of new members—has been changing, largely due to ever-developing Internet technology and new possibilities in cyberspace. One new trend is the lone-wolf terrorist—such as Army Major Nidal Hassan, who massacred his…
Almost everyone seems to be asking the same question with respect to the WikiLeaks saga: What, if anything, can Julian Assange, and those who have worked closely with him, be prosecuted for? Most Americans have a visceral reaction that Assange did something wrong and must be…
Testimony before the Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs of the Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate June 11, 2009 My name is Brian Walsh, and I am Senior Legal Research Fellow in The Heritage Foundation's Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. The views I express in this…
This testimony was delivered on June 27, 2007, before the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Property Rights of the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate. My name is David Muhlhausen. I am Senior Policy Analyst in the…
Abstract: This November, California voters will consider a ballot initiative, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010. Scientific research is clear that marijuana is addictive and that its use significantly impairs bodily and mental functions. Even…
INTRODUCTION Policymakers at last are coming to recognize the connection between the breakdown of American families and various social problems. The unfolding debate over welfare reform, for instance, has been shaped by the wide acceptance in recent years that children born into single-parent families are much more likely than children of intact families to fall into…
Mounting social science research confirms what most Americans already know: The breakdown of the family contributes significantly to many of society's ills, including poverty, crime, drug addiction, school drop-out rates, and poor health. From this same research, Americans also are learning that when fathers are absent from their families, the rate of…
Before the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate Delivered July 21, 2010 …
I don't have to tell you that things are at a critical juncture in our country when it comes to violent crime. We find violence now running at intolerably high levels. The heyday of violent crime was actually in the 1960s and 1970s, and I will describe it in more detail later. It peaked…
Good morning Judge Murphy and Members of the Commission.Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the proposed amendment regarding corporate fraud and, more generally, about the nature of white-collar crime sentencing. For the record, I am a Senior legal Research Fellow in the Center for legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation, an independent research and…
Testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs Good morning Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today on the topic of white-collar crime enforcement and sentencing. For the record, I am a Senior…
The word "justice" is on everyone's lips nowadays, and may signify almost anything. We hear the cry "Peace and Justice!" from folk who would destroy existing societies with fire and sword. Other folk fancy that perfect justice might readily be obtained by certain financial rearrangements -- as if anything in this world ever could be…
The political pressure to criminalize innocent conduct has proved difficult for most Members of Congress, irrespective of party affiliation, to resist. As a result of these pressures, Congress often crafts criminal legislation that is “misguided, unnecessary, and even harmful.”[1] It is far too easy for a Member of…
For centuries, the concept of a “guilty mind” has been at the core of what makes someone a criminal. Most Americans rightly think that no one deserves criminal punishment unless he intended to break the law or knew that his conduct was unlawful or sufficiently wrongful so as to put…
Marriage, these days, is getting bad press. For example, a string of recent headlines claim that living together is...…
The tents still occupy two parks in Washington, D.C., but there are fewer people living in them as protesters with the...…
According to new data from the FBI, violent and property crime rates fell in America last year, despite continued high...…
During the past week, the U.S. and Colombia indicted and arrested more than 50 individuals charged with organizing...…
Drugged, raped, and sold for sex. This was the life of Maria (not her real name), a 16-year-old Mexican girl who was...…
A warning to Californians: dangerous convicted criminals are coming soon to a neighborhood near you. That’s because...…
Violent and property crime fell in America last year, the second full year of the current recession, according to new...…
In the International Criminal Court (ICC) Review Conference’s discussion of the “crime of aggression,” the U.S. agenda...…
There are positive and negative aspects to today’s 6-3 Supreme Court ruling in Graham v. Florida that it is...…
Remember President Obama’s trip to Copenhagen last year? Not the failed Chicago Olympics bid, but the Climate Change...…
Research Fellow in Empirical Policy Analysis