Search Results

open access

Gun Control Legislation

Description: This report provides basic firearms-related statistics, an overview of federal firearms law, and a summary of legislative action in the 111th Congress. The report concludes with salient issues that have generated significant congressional interest, including the 1994-2004 LCAFD ban.
Date: March 10, 2010
Creator: Krouse, William J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Federal Efforts to Address the Threat of Bioterrorism: Selected Issues for Congress

Description: This report focuses on four areas critical to the success of the biodefense enterprise that the 111th Congress is likely to consider: strategic planning; risk assessment; surveillance; and the development, procurement, and distribution of medical countermeasures.
Date: March 18, 2010
Creator: Gottron, Frank & Shea, Dana A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Extraterritorial Application of American Criminal Law

Description: Crime is ordinarily proscribed, tried, and punished according to the laws of the place where it occurs. American criminal law applies beyond the geographical confines of the United States, however, under certain limited circumstances. A surprising number of federal criminal statutes have extraterritorial application, but prosecutions have been few. This may be because when extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction does exist, practical and legal complications, and sometimes diplomatic consideratio… more
Date: March 26, 2010
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal Court

Description: This report provides an overview of the early judicial developments and the establishment of Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) procedures; summarizes selected court cases related to the detentions and the use of military commissions; and discusses the Detainee Treatment Act, as amended by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and the Military Commissions Act of 2009, analyzing its effects on detainee-related litigation in federal court. The report summarizes the Supreme Court's decision … more
Date: April 5, 2010
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K. & Garcia, Michael J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Economic Impacts of Prison Growth

Description: This report provides an economic overview of the correctional sector as background for the unfolding debate over spending and other policies. It begins with information on the growth in prison populations in public and in private prisons and also briefly explores the economic impacts of prison location. It is not intended a study of the effectiveness of sentencing and other laws, nor of evolving polices aimed at reducing recidivism and prison populations.
Date: April 13, 2010
Creator: Kirchhoff, Suzanne M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF): Budget and Operations for FY2008, FY2009, and FY2010

Description: This report provides an overview of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) budget and operations for FY2008, FY2009, and FY2010. It chronicles congressional action on the annual Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS), and Related Agencies Appropriations bills for those fiscal years, as well as action on supplemental and stimulus appropriations bills.
Date: April 15, 2010
Creator: Krouse, William J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF): Budget and Operations for FY2010

Description: This report provides an overview of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) budget and operations. This report chronicles congressional action on the FY2011 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS), and Related Agencies Appropriations bills, as well as any FY2010 supplemental appropriations bills, that provide funding for ATF.
Date: April 27, 2010
Creator: Krouse, William J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Department of Homeland Security Assistance to States and Localities: A Summary and Issues for the 111th Congress

Description: This report summarizes several emergency management and homeland security programs, and identifies and analyzes potential issues for the 111th Congress. These issues include the purpose and number of assistance programs; the evaluation of the use of grant funding; the determination of eligible grant recipients; the programs' funding amounts; and the programs; funding distribution methodologies.
Date: April 30, 2010
Creator: Reese, Shawn
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress

Description: Trafficking in persons (TIP) for the purposes of exploitation is both an international and a domestic crime that involves violations of labor, public health, and human rights standards. This report focuses on human trafficking both internationally and within the United States. The report begins with an overview of human trafficking including a discussion of the definition of human trafficking, the scope of the problem globally, and an examination of the victims. It follows with an analysis of g… more
Date: May 20, 2010
Creator: Wyler, Liana Sun & Siskin, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Terrorism, Miranda, and Related Matters

Description: This report provides background information regarding Miranda rights and public safety exception. The report discusses Supreme Court decisions on Miranda v. Arizona, due process inquiry, and the Fifth Amendment right.
Date: May 24, 2010
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Identity Theft: Trends and Issues

Description: This report first provides a brief federal legislative history of identity theft laws. It analyzes the current trends in identity theft, including prevalent identity theft-related crimes, the federal agencies involved in combating identity theft, and the trends in identity theft complaints and prosecutions. The report also discusses the relationship between data breaches and identity theft as well as possible effects of the FTC's Identity Theft Red Flags Rule, effective June 1, 2010. It also ex… more
Date: May 27, 2010
Creator: Finklea, Kristin M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Jurisprudence of Justice John Paul Stevens: Selected Opinions on the Jury's Role in Criminal Sentencing

Description: This report discusses Justice John Paul Stevens' opinions on the Jury's role in criminal sentencing. Justice Stevens has played a critical role in the Supreme Court's interpretation of a jury's role in criminal sentencing. In 2000, he wrote the majority opinion for the Court in Apprendi v. New Jersey, a landmark case in which the Court held that a judge typically may not increase a sentence beyond the range prescribed by statute unless the increase is based on facts determined by a jury "beyond… more
Date: June 7, 2010
Creator: Henning, Anna C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Organized Retail Crime

Description: This report provides an overview of organized retail crime rings, their operations, and goods targeted. It then examines the domestic impact of organized retail crime (ORC) in the arenas of the economy, public health and safety, and domestic security. The report also outlines current efforts by retailers, resale markets, and the federal government to combat ORC. It then analyzes various policy issues that the 111th Congress may wish to consider, including whether current federal resources provi… more
Date: June 16, 2010
Creator: Finklea, Kristin M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Guantanamo Detention Center: Legislative Activity in the 111th Congress

Description: The detention of alleged enemy combatants at the U.S. Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, together with proposals to transfer some such individuals to the United States for prosecution or continued detention, has been a subject of considerable interest for Congress. Several authorization and appropriations measures enacted during the 111th Congress, and various pending bills, address the disposition and treatment of Guantanamo detainees. This report analyzes relevant provisions in enacted le… more
Date: June 17, 2010
Creator: Henning, Anna C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

D.C. Gun Laws and Proposed Amendments

Description: In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, which declared three firearms provisions of the D.C. Code unconstitutional, a flurry of legislation was introduced both in Congress and in the District of Columbia Council. This report provides an analysis of the District's firearms laws and congressional proposals.
Date: June 28, 2010
Creator: Chu, Vivian S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

International Criminal Court Cases in Africa: Status and Policy Issues

Description: This report provides background on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its investigations in Africa, with an overview of cases currently before the Court. The report also examines issues raised by the ICC's actions in Africa, including the potential deterrence of future abuses and the potential impact on African peace processes.
Date: July 14, 2010
Creator: Arieff, Alexis; Margesson, Rhoda; Browne, Marjorie Ann & Weed, Matthew C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Terrorist Material Support: A Sketch of 18 U.S.C. 2339A and 2339B

Description: This report discusses the two federal material support statutes that have been at the heart of the Justice Department's terrorist prosecution efforts. One provision outlaws providing material support for the commission of certain designated offenses that might be committed by terrorists, 18 U.S.C. 2339A. The other outlaws providing material support to certain designated terrorist organizations, 18 U.S.C. 2339B. They share a common definition of the term "material support," some aspects of which… more
Date: July 19, 2010
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Terrorist Material Support: An Overview of 18 U.S.C. 2339A and 2339B

Description: This report discusses the two federal material support statutes that have been at the heart of the Justice Department's terrorist prosecution efforts. One provision outlaws providing material support for the commission of certain designated offenses that might be committed by terrorists, 18 U.S.C. 2339A. The other outlaws providing material support to certain designated terrorist organizations, 18 U.S.C. 2339B. They share a common definition of the term "material support," some aspects of which… more
Date: July 19, 2010
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Deprivation of Honest Services as a Basis for Federal Mail and Wire Fraud Convictions

Description: The United States Supreme Court in Skilling v. United States construed the honest services branch of the federal mail and wire fraud statutes to reach no more than cases involving bribery or kickbacks. The mail and wire fraud statutes, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341 and 1343, impose criminal penalties for the use of mail or interstate wire communications to deprive another of money or property through a "scheme or artifice to defraud." This report discusses wire and mail fraud and examines relevant court ca… more
Date: July 28, 2010
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

U.S.-Mexican Security Cooperation: the Mérida Initiative and Beyond

Description: This report provides a framework for examining the current status and future prospects for U.S.- Mexican security cooperation. It begins with a brief discussion of the threat that drug trafficking and related crime and violence pose to both nations, followed by an analysis of the evolution of the Mérida Initiative. The report then provides an overview of the Peña Nieto government's security strategy and how it is affecting the Mérida Initiative. The report then examines key aspects of the curre… more
Date: July 29, 2010
Creator: Ribando Seelke, Clare & Finklea, Kristin M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
Back to Top of Screen