The Pocket Part: 2007 Highlights

posted by Yale Law Journal

The Pocket Part is bringing back some of our most popular and influential issues of the year. We chose three different issues that represent the diverse array of scholarship that The Pocket Part has published: White Collar Criminals, In Defense of Guantanamo, and Congressional Representation for Puerto Rico. Read below for an introduction to each issue.

We hope that you have enjoyed reading The Pocket Part in the past year, and we look forward to publishing new and interesting pieces in 2008.

White Collar Criminals

In a controversial essay, Ellen Podgor argues that the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for white collar crimes are too harsh. Fraud is not comparable to aiding terrorist organizations. Furthermore, white collar criminals are less likely to recidivate than other criminals. Finally, white collar criminals simply do not threaten our sense of security in the way that violent criminals do.

In response, Andrew Weissmann and Joshua A. Block attack Podgor’s assertion that white collar criminals are severely punished. Although there are high profile outliers, the average white collar criminal does not serve jail sentences comparable to murders or terrorists. Furthermore, Podgor’s suggestion that white collar criminals are more deserving of leniency is problematic and potentially discriminatory.

Ellen S. Podgor, Throwing Away the Key, 116 Yale L.J. Pocket Part 279 (2007), http://thepocketpart.org/2007/02/21/podgor.html.

Andrew Weissmann & Joshua A. Block, White-Collar Defendants and White-Collar Crimes, 116 Yale L.J. Pocket Part 286 (2007), http://thepocketpart.org/2007/02/21/weissmann_block.html.

In Defense of Guantanamo Bay

In this candid essay , former Chief Prosecutor of the Military Commissions, Morris Davis, gives a first hand account of the conditions on Guantanamo Bay. In particular, Colonel Davis defends the judicial procedures of the military commissions as both fair and transparent. Recently, Colonel Davis stepped down from his role as Chief Prosecutor after a public conflict with the Bush administration over these very issues.

Morris D. Davis, In Defense of Guantanamo Bay, 117 Yale L.J. Pocket Part 21 (2007), http://thepocketpart.org/2007/08/13/davis.html.

Congressional Representation for Puerto Rico

José R. Coleman Tió argues the current commonwealth relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico is insufficient to satisfy Puerto Rico’s democratic aspirations. Coleman believes that Puerto Rico can and should be given congressional representation through federal legislation.

In response, Christina Duffy Burnett and John C. Fortier argue that Coleman cannot surmount the constitutional and normative challenges to his proposal. Taking a different perspective, Ezra Rosser argues that early treaties with Native American tribes provide historical examples of similar non-state congressional representation.

José R. Coleman Tió, Democracy, Not Statehood: The Case for Puerto Rican Congressmen, 116 Yale L.J. Pocket Part 397 (2007), http://thepocketpart.org/2007/05/19/coleman.html.

Christina Duffy Burnett, Two Puerto Rican Senators Stay Home, 116 Yale L.J. Pocket Part 408 (2007), http://thepocketpart.org/2007/05/19/burnett.html.

John C. Fortier, The Constitution Is Clear: Only States Vote in Congress, 116 Yale L.J. Pocket Part 403 (2007), http://thepocketpart.org/2007/05/19/fortier.html.

Ezra Rosser, Promises of Nonstate Representatives, 117 Yale L.J. Pocket Part 118 (2007), http://thepocketpart.org/2007/10/17/ rosser.html.

February 2, 2008 at 3:52 pm Posted in: Law Rev (Yale), Law Rev Forum Print This Post