Vanderbilt Law Review

Admitting Guilt by Professing Innocence: When Sentence Enhancements Based On Alford Pleas Are Unconstitutional

Alford plea is a means of pleading guilty without admitting factual guilt. This note argues that any fact that enhances an Alford defendant's sentence should be either specifically admitted by the defendant or proven to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Part II provides background information on the mechanics of Alford pleas and plea bargaining generally. Part III examines the nature of this conflict by briefly summarizing the landmark Supreme Court cases of Apprendi and Blakely, as well as t...

Another Can of Crawford Worms: Certificates of Nonexistence of Public Record and the Confrontation Clause

This note argues that certificates of nonexistence of public record should be considered nontestimonial evidence under Crawford but that criminal defendants should still be able to cross-examine records clerks under circumstances casting doubt on the reliability of such certificates. Part II traces the shift in the Court's Confrontation Clause jurisprudence and then explains the interests protected by this Clause. Part III analyzes certified statements of nonexistence of public record accordi...

How to Kill the Scapegoat: Addressing Offshore Tax Evasion with a Special View to Switzerland

This note addresses the issues of, and solutions to, offshore tax evasion with a focus on Switzerland. As Part II.A illustrates, Switzerland is uniquely positioned among tax haven countries, making it an ideal paradigm for discussion. Part II.B outlines recent conflicts between US authorities and one of Switzerland's largest banks that have brought offshore tax evasion to front pages of newspapers and the floor of Congress. Part III analyzes the current legal structure governing tax issues be...

Merging in the Shadow of the Law: The Case for Consistent Judicial Efficiency Analysis

This Article examines current judicial interpretation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act through the lens of negotiation theory. The research exposes a gap between how courts state they are analyzing efficiency claims in Section 7 Clayton Act enforcement actions and what they are actually doing. During periods of lax antitrust enforcement, this pattern is not readily visible, since almost all proposed merger and acquisition ("M&A") deals are approved. With a shift to more aggressive antitrus...

Punishment As Suffering

In a recent series of high-profile articles, a group of contemporary scholars has taken up the mantle of subjectivism. In their view, criminal punishment is a grand machine for the production of negative subjective experiences -- suffering. This view of the criminal law may strike some readers as troubling. It should. The problem can be traced to three contestable propositions. The first is that subjective disutility is a necessary feature and primary goal of punishment. The second is that co...