Several Roads to Decarceration, All of Which Should Be Taken
As the year comes to a close, it is undeniably true that criminal justice reform is in the air. The federal First Step Act, even with critics on the left and right, heralds a less punitive approach than the “get tough on crime” policies of the past several decades. Recent elections yielded a number of prosecutors swept into office on platforms focused on confronting racial disparities and rethinking approaches to low-level offenses.
October 2018 Council Updates
During its meeting in New York City on October 18 and 19, the ALI Council reviewed drafts for seven Institute projects. Drafts or portions of drafts for six projects received Council approval, subject to the meeting discussion and to the usual prerogative to make nonsubstantive editorial improvements.
From International Law and International Relations to Law and World Politics
Political scientists — primarily in the discipline’s international relations subfield — have long studied international law. This article identifies five stages of political science research on international law, including the current interdisciplinary international law and international relations (IL/IR) stage, and it reviews three trends in political science research that constitute an emerging sixth stage of interdisciplinary scholarship: a law and world politics (L/WP) stage.
The Perils of Voting by Mail
Bladen County, North Carolina, provides the latest object lesson for anyone genuinely interested in improving American elections. Each day this past week brought a new revelation about apparent absentee ballot fraud there, fraud that appears increasingly likely to lead North Carolina authorities (or the U.S. House of Representatives) to call for a new election for the state’s 9th Congressional District. But whether or not that entire congressional race must be rerun, the story that has emerged from Bladen County already makes clear the need for all states to be vigilant in how they manage their absentee voting processes.
Marriott Sued Hours After Announcing Data Breach
Hours after announcing a data breach on Friday, two Oregon men sued international hotel chain Marriott for exposing their data. Their lawsuit was followed hours later by another one filed in the state of Maryland.
Restating the Intentional Torts to Persons: Seeing the Forest and the Trees
The five thoughtful, incisive articles by Professors Bernstein, Chamallas, Geistfeld, Moore, and Sugarman offer a breathtaking range of perspectives on the Restatement, Third of Torts: Intentional Torts to Persons (“ITR”). Some view tort law from the widest vantage point, inquiring whether this forest deserves its own appellation or should instead be assimilated to the rest of tort’s greenery. Some focus more on the trees–on the distinct doctrines that characterize the torts and defenses that ITR is restating. In this response, we engage with the participants at both levels.
The ALI Adviser is intended to inform readers about the legal topics and issues examined in many of ALI’s current projects; posts do not necessarily represent the position of the Institute taken in those projects. Posts on The ALI Adviser are written by ALI project participants, ALI members, and outside sources. Completed work is available to purchase online.