Browsed by
Tag: domestic violence

Who Among Us Is the Reasonable Person?

Who Among Us Is the Reasonable Person?

Our cultural understanding of “criminal” heavily influences how the elements of a criminal defense are defined and applied. Kansas Supreme Court case State v. Stewart was no exception to this rule. The defendant in this case, a victim of a long-term domestic abuse by her husband, Mike, was charged with first-degree murder of her husband. After suffering years of emotional and physical abuse toward herself and her two daughters, on the morning of the murder, Stewart found her only escape…

Read More Read More

Is it Only a Crime? Domestic Violence, Vulnerability, and the Carceral State

Is it Only a Crime? Domestic Violence, Vulnerability, and the Carceral State

The following piece is a part of NULR of Note’s “Bring Back The ‘90s” initiative, aimed at exploring the evolution of legal thinking over the past three decades. For more, click here. When I wrote Isn’t It a Crime: Feminist Perspectives on Spousal Immunity and Spousal Violence for the Northwestern Law Review back in the ’90s, I sought to add to the discussion about the prosecution of domestic violence crimes. I focused not on mandatory arrest policies or no-drop prosecution policies, but on the spousal privilege…

Read More Read More