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The Marijuana Laws

Description: This report outlines and describes how a number of U.S. states handle marijuana-related criminal offenses. This report uses charts and text to describe their statistical findings.
Date: September 16, 1977
Creator: The Center for the Study of Non-Medical Drug Use
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Insanity Defense: An Overview and Legislative Proposals

Description: This report will discuss the insanity defense as used in the federal courts. It will briefly trace the history of the evolution of that defense from its earliest formulation to the version used in the John Hinckley case, and will provide, in summary form, descriptive analysis of various pieces of Legislation to change federal law with regard to the substantive definition of the defense, the allocation of the burden of persuasion when the defense is invoked, and procedures following the successf… more
Date: July 19, 1982
Creator: Marion, Catherine
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Gun Control

Description: This report provides basic firearms-related issues and a summary of legislative action.
Date: August 11, 1982
Creator: Hogan, Harry L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Homeless in America

Description: This report discusses questions dealing with the number of homeless Americans as well as trends in society's attitudes toward such people. The incidence of mental illness and the appropriateness, or lack thereof, of deinstitutionalization for such patients is another aspect of the problem which is covered in this packet. A CRS report gives an overview of the situation and of the Federal response.
Date: November 1, 1984
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996: A Summary

Description: The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 is the product of legislative efforts stretching back well over a decade and stimulated to passage in part by the tragedies in Oklahoma City and the World Trade Center. This report summarizes the six titles of the Act, its sources, and related legislation.
Date: June 3, 1996
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Fifth Amendment Privilege Against SelfIncrimination May Not Be Extended in Cases Where Only a Foreign Prosecution Is Possible

Description: Several courts in the various circuits have considered whether the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination applies to fear of incrimination in foreign countries, and they have come to divergent conclusions. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in United States v. Balsys, and on June 25, 1998, decided that a witness may not invoke the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination in which only a foreign prosecution is possible. This report provides background on… more
Date: July 16, 1998
Creator: Wallace, Paul S., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The International Criminal Court Treaty: Description, Policy Issues, and Congressional Concerns

Description: This report discusses the events leading to the creation of a permanent international criminal tribunal and U.S. perspectives on the Court including: problematic provisions in the ICC Treaty, congressional considerations, and potential implications for U.S. foreign policy.
Date: January 6, 1999
Creator: Grigorian, Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

Description: This report gives an overview of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, which was intended to prohibit bribery of foreign officials by American corporations. It includes information about the original legislation, amendments in 1988, and amendments in 1998 that brought the legislation into conformance with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's agreement on bribery.
Date: March 3, 1999
Creator: Seitzinger, Michael V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Gun Industry Liability: Lawsuits and Legislation

Description: This report discusses gun industry liability issues after the Maryland Court of Appeals announced that it was changing the common law "to hold the manufacturers and marketers of Saturday Night Special handguns strictly liable to innocent persons who suffer gunshot injuries from the criminal use of their products." Kelley v. R.G. Industries, Inc., 497 A.2d 1143, 1159 (Md. 1985).
Date: March 30, 1999
Creator: Cohen, Henry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Crime and Forfeiture: The Innocent Third Party

Description: Forfeiture has survived through time in American law, and since 1984, the use of forfeiture statutes to divest felons of their spoils has increased substantially. This report reviews the case law which raises the issue concerning many relative to whether some civil forfeiture proceedings constitute punishment which may violate the Eighth Amendment's excessive fines clause.
Date: June 29, 1999
Creator: Wallace, Paul S., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Statutes: An Overview of Legislation in the 106th Congress

Description: This report discusses federal mandatory minimum sentencing statutes, which demand that execution or incarceration follow criminal conviction. They cover drug dealing, murdering federal officials, and using a gun to commit a federal crime. They circumscribe judicial sentencing discretion. They have been criticized as unthinkingly harsh and incompatible with a rational sentencing guideline system; yet they have also been embraced as hallmarks of truth in sentence and a certain means of incapacita… more
Date: January 11, 2001
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Terrorism Legislation: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001

Description: This report discusses wiretapping and other controversial issues as a part of USA PATRIOT Act which bolsters the ability of federal authorities to conduct criminal and intelligence investigations, to bar and expel foreign terrorists from the United States, to separate terrorists from their sources of financial support, to punish acts of terrorism, and to address the needs of the direct victims of the events of September 11.
Date: October 26, 2001
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Selected Procedural Safeguards in Federal, Military, and International Courts

Description: This report compares selected procedural safeguards employed in criminal trials in federal criminal court with parallel protective measures in military general courts-martial, military commissions as authorized under the Military Order of November 13, and, as a possible benchmark of international standards, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Date: January 30, 2002
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Grand Jury

Description: This report is a brief general description of the federal grand jury, with particular emphasis on its more controversial aspects—relationship of the prosecutor and the grand jury, the rights of grand jury witnesses, grand jury secrecy, and rights of targets of a grand jury investigation.
Date: February 5, 2002
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Capital Punishment: An Overview of Federal Death Penalty Statutes

Description: This report lists the current federal capital offenses and summarizes the procedures for federal civilian death penalty cases. Several laws are relevant to the topic including: P.L. 103-322, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994; the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996; and P.L. 107-197, the Terrorist Bombings Convention Implementation Act of 2002.
Date: July 23, 2002
Creator: Bazan, Elizabeth B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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First Responder Initiative: Policy Issues and Options

Description: Following the terrorist attacks of September 2001, Congress has given considerable attention to the role of first responders in the nation’s homeland security efforts. This report discusses the “First Responder Initiative”, a recent proposal by the Bush Administration to help state and local first responders prepare for possible terrorist attacks.
Date: October 7, 2002
Creator: Canada, Ben
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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First Responder Initiative: Policy Issues and Options

Description: This report discusses the “First Responder Initiative,” a proposed block grant program to help state and local first responders prepare for possible terrorist attacks. Under the Administration proposal, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would administer the program, which, if approved, would provide $3.5 billion to states and localities.
Date: December 11, 2002
Creator: Canada, Ben
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Homeland Security - Reducing the Vulnerability of Public and Private Information Infrastructures to Terrorism: An Overview

Description: This report assesses the impact of September 11, 2001 attack on public and private information infrastructures in the context of critical infrastructure protection,continuity of operation (COP) and homeland security.
Date: December 12, 2002
Creator: Seifert, Jeffrey W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Combating Terrorism: First Emergency Supplemental Appropriations - Distribution of Funds to Departments and Agencies

Description: This report provides background on the 2001 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States, P.L. 107-38 (H.R. 2888) as well as the criteria for use of the funds developed by The Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It also outlines information about supplemental fund distributions in three tables.
Date: January 7, 2003
Creator: Riehl, James R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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