Center on the Administration of Criminal Law
The Center is an apolitical advocacy organization and think-tank founded in June 2008 and dedicated to the promotion of good government practices in the criminal justice system.
Center News:
In a 9-0 opinion, the Supreme Court agrees with the Center.
- The Center's inaugural annual conference, "Regulation By Prosecutors," was held on May 8, 2009, and included many prominent participants. See the conference schedule here. Read more about the book to be published after the event via here. View video of the conference here.
- In September 2008, shortly after its founding, the Center filed a brief in support of a writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court of the United States in Abuelhawa v. United States. The Court took the case, and the Center filed an amicus brief on the merits. In a unanimous opinion issued on May 26, 2009, the Court agreed with the Center that the defendant should prevail. The Court rested its decision in part on statutory history and Justice Department charging policy, both subjects of the Center's brief.
- Faculty Director Rachel E. Barkow publishes "Institutional Design and the Policing of Prosecutors: Lessons from Administrative Law" in the Stanford Law Review, "The Court of Life and Death: The Two Tracks of Constitutional Sentencing Law and the Case for Uniformity" in the Michigan Law Review, and "The Politics of Forgiveness: Reconceptualizing Clemency" in the Federal Sentencing Reporter.
- The Center files an amicus brief on the merits on behalf of the United States in United States v. Stevens, a prosecution of an individual who knowingly sold depictions of animal cruelty, specifically videos of pit bulls engaging in violent dogfights and attacks on other animals. The Center worked in partnership with Paul D. Clement, the former Solicitor General of the United States, of the law firm King & Spalding.
- Executive Director Anthony S. Barkow publishes an op-ed in The Washington Post commending Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine's proposal to cut incarceration costs by releasing some non-violent offenders who have been model inmates by enlarging the generally-applicable period of early release to 90 days from the present 30 days.
- The Center files comments with the United States Sentencing Commission proposing that the Commission include in its top priorities the forecasting of the fiscal costs and the racial and ethnic impact of pending federal criminal legislation prior to enactment and of any proposed Commission amendment to the sentencing guidelines.
About the Center
The Center analyzes important issues of criminal law, particularly focusing on prosecutorial power and discretion.The Center analyzes important issues of criminal law, particularly focusing on prosecutorial power and discretion. It pursues this mission in three main arenas: academia, the courts, and public policy debates. The Center's academic component researches criminal justice practices at all levels of government, produces scholarship on criminal justice issues, and hosts symposia and conferences to address significant topics in criminal law and procedure. The litigation component uses the Center’s research and experience with criminal justice practices to inform courts in important criminal justice matters, particularly in cases in which exercises of prosecutorial discretion create significant legal issues. The public policy component applies the Center’s criminal justice expertise to improve the public dialogue on criminal justice matters, including in discussions with elected and appointed public officials and with the media.
The Center is the first and only organization dedicated to defining good government practices in criminal prosecutions. No other organization is dedicated to improving prosecution practices through research, litigation, and the improvement of public policy.
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