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Implied Malice Aiding and Abetting: A Doctrinal Maze
No full textIn the wake of the California Legislature’s elimination of the natural and probable consequences theory of second-degree murder, a new doctrine has emerged for assigning murder liability to accomplices in fatal assaults: implied malice aiding and abetting. This theory, which preserves murder liability for assailants who neither kill nor intend to kill, combines the doctrines of aiding and abetting and implied malice. The difficulty of navigating the resulting thicket of interlocking requirements raises a serious risk that the doctrine will be applied too broadly. After outlining the history of accomplice liability for murder in California and analyzing several cases where implied malice aiding and abetting has already been employed to sustain murder liability, this Note attempts to identify the potential pitfalls that face courts and legal practitioners in the application of this complex new theory
Cardozo Law News Brief: May 24, 2024
No full textFeatured Faculty: Jessica Roth Matthew Wansley Young Ran (Christine) Kim Jacob Noti-Victo
The Criminal Metaverse
No full textVirtual worlds are no longer science fiction. New technologies that promise a world lacking physical or mental boundaries are finally becoming a reality. Commonly referred to as the metaverse, this innovative technology opens a world of opportunities for individuals everywhere to experience an almost unlimited virtual dimension where they can play, work, own property, engage in sexual activities, and fulfill their dreams. Unlike previous virtual worlds, the metaverse could be a gamechanger as it offers an immersive experience. It feels authentic to the users and will become even more realistic with advancements in haptic technology. With its benefits, the technology also raises the fear of criminal activities. These may include financial or property crimes (e.g., theft or fraud), crimes against the person (e.g., stalking or harassment), and sex crimes (e.g., sexual harassment and potentially even rape), to name but a few examples.
Unlike previous virtual worlds and its related scholarship, the metaverse’s immersive capabilities could be disruptive to criminal law: they could lead to atypical offenses that, while lacking physical harm, could activate the nervous system much like a conventional crime. If the mind cannot tell the difference, how should criminal law treat such conduct? In light of such immersion, this Article proposes a taxonomy for metaverse crimes and suggests further scrutiny of the metaverse’s enforcement. Upon defining the criminal metaverse, this Article identifies some conducts as in superposition—whereas their existence and scope are currently undetermined—and offers ways to assess their harm. It then examines enforcement challenges and concludes that much of the rulemaking and enforcement will be in the realm of metaverse platforms, while some must remain under the state\u27s prerogative. Ultimately, enforcement of the criminal metaverse will take on an unprecedented dynamic that has yet to be seen in criminal law
Judicial Discipline through the Prism of Public Law Values: A Critical Analysis of Bill C-9, An Act to Reform the Judges Act
No full textBill C-9 is the first legislative reform to the Judges Act in five decades. The goal of the legislation is to enhance public confidence in the administration of justice by modernizing the complaints and discipline system for federally appointed judges. In a previous essay published in Volume ?? of the Advocates’ Quarterly we offered a normative framework for assessment of a complaints and discipline system and identified seven key strengths of Bill C-9. In this sequel, we continue to apply this normative framework and argue that the legislation is marred by five significant weaknesses. We conclude that because the reforms were driven by crisis thinking they over-emphasized two values – independence and efficiency – at the expense of several other equally significant values, including impartiality, transparency, accountability, participation, representation and responsive justification. Consequently, Bill C-9 will likely fail as an attempt to enhance public confidence in the administration of justice
The Imperative of Rejecting Gender-Critical Feminism in the Law
No full textRoughly a half-century ago at the height of the second-wave feminist movement, some feminist scholars and activists found themselves arguing with transgender people about who is a woman. While much of contemporary feminist thought has moved past biological essentialism’s outdated embrace of a sex binary to embrace trans-equality, a relatively small but vocal group of self-proclaimed “gender-critical feminists” (who are sometimes called trans-exclusionary radical feminists, or “TERFs” for short) eschew transgender legal rights that they perceive as potentially threatening to the rights of cisgender women. Most gender-critical arguments in that regard are fallacious; they are based on myths and false narratives that misconstrue or ignore empirical data from both the natural and social sciences. Worse yet, the gender-critical position not only threatens to undermine equality under law, but also fosters narratives that contribute to the criminal victimization of transgender persons. In an attempt to minimize the potential for such harmful outcomes, this Article seeks to dismantle some of the more common arguments that gender-critical feminists routinely offer so that judges and lawyers have a source of legal literature that corrects the misinformation gender-critical authors are spreading in this emerging field, thereby providing them with the evidence needed to craft accurate legal arguments and rulings
