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Abstract:
This Essay attempts to add a bit of realism to the theoretical debate on torture by urging that we take a shrewd look at the quality of information brutal interrogations produce. Looking at popular discourse about torture, this Essay recognizes widespread belief in what it calls the torture myth - the idea that torture is the most effective interrogation practice. In reality, this Essay argues, in addition to moral and legal problems, the use of torture carries with it a host of practical problems which seriously blunt its effectiveness. This Essay maintains that contrary to the myth, torture doesn't always produce the desired information and, in the cases in which it does, it may not produce it in a timely fashion. In the end the Essay concludes, that any marginal benefit of torture is low because traditional techniques of interrogation may be as good, and possibly even better at producing valuable intelligence without torture's tremendous costs.

torture, interrogation, police

Abstract:
This Essay addresses the theoretical debate on torture in an empirical way. It urges that as part of our evaluation of the merits of torture, we take a shrewd look at the quality of information brutal interrogations produce. The Essay identifies widespread belief in what the author identifies as the "torture myth" the idea that torture is the most effective interrogation practice. In reality, in addition to its oft-acknowledged moral and legal problems, the use of torture carries with it a host of practical problems which seriously blunt its effectiveness. This Essay demonstrates that contrary to the myth, torture and the closely related practice, torture "lite" do not always produce the desired information and, in the cases in which it does, these practices may not produce it in a timely fashion. In the end, the Essay concludes, any marginal benefit the practice offers is low because traditional techniques of interrogation may be as good, and possibly even better at producing valuable intelligence.

torture, human rights, false confession, police, investigation, international law, interrogation

Abstract:
In this paper, I argue that the problem of violence directed at minorities in white neighborhoods is far broader than just encompassing violence directed at them at the point of their move to a neighborhood. My study of cases prosecuted under federal civil rights law has revealed numerous cases over the past twenty years in which acts of violence, threats and harassment have been specifically aimed at forcing out Black, Asian, Latino and Middle-Eastern residents who are not newcomers to the predominately white neighborhoods in which they live. I lump such violence, along with violence and harassment aimed at minorities who have recently moved to a white neighborhood, under the broad category anti-integrationist violence.

housing, segregation, hate crime, violence, race

Abstract:
This Article addresses one of the consequences of racial segregation in housing - violence and intimidation directed at minorities who are integrating white neighborhoods. In describing the history and dynamics of this type of anti-integrationist crime, the Article seeks to offer an introduction to the setting of hate crimes in a neighborhood context. The Article provides a critical bridge between hate crime law and housing law, exploring the substantial difficulties when each of these legal remedies is used to combat this type of violence. The Article concludes by offering a series of solutions uniquely crafted to combat the problem of bias-motivated violence in the neighborhood context.

Fair Housing Act, housing, hate crime, civil rights violation, segregation, integration

Abstract:
Copyright 2008, Trustees of Indiana University. Reprinted with permission of Indiana Law Review. This Article examines the implications the Fair Housing Act (FHA) has on anti-integrationist racial violence faced by racial and ethnic minority's integrating white neighborhoods. The first part of the article describes anti-integrationist violence as it occurs in two separate but distinct time periods the first occurring, before the passage of the FHA. The second time period that article addresses is the post-1968 era until the present day. In discussing the period since the passage of the Act, the article describes several important mechanisms in how the FHA functions as a remedy for extralegal violence. The Article concludes with a call for a more targeted approach to the problem of anti-integrationist violence.

Fair Housing Act, housing, hate crime, civil rights violation, segregation, integration

Abstract:
This Article presents a comprehensive, context-based theory which both places cross burning in its proper doctrinal framework and recognizes the history of cross burning as one of Ku Klux Klan-inspired terrorism directed at African Americans. The author prefaces critical commentary on the Supreme Court's decision in Virginia v. Black with analysis of the full landscape of cross burning cases including another issue to which others have paid little attention - the ways in which state courts have negotiated First Amendment challenges to cross burning statutes. Thoroughly examining cross burning from each of these perspectives, the Article argues that cross burning should be treated as hate crime, which may be prosecuted, rather than as constitutionally protected hate speech.

First Amendment, cross burning, race, integration, hate crime, hate speech, minority rights, extremists, racism, Ku Klux Klan, Virginia v. Black