Is Retribution Worth the Cost?

SHERRY F. COLB

Cornell law professor Sherry F. Colb discusses the four purported goals of the criminal justice system—deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, and rehabilitation—and argues that retribution may preclude rehabilitation. Colb considers whether restorative justice—wherein a victim has a conversation with the offender and talks about what he did to her and why it was wrong—might better serve the rehabilitative purpose than long prison sentences do.

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The Other Epidemic

KATHRYN ROBB

Kathryn Robb, executive director of CHILD USAdvocacy, comments on a public-health crisis that is getting relatively less attention right now: the scourge of child sex abuse. To address this crisis, Robb calls for greater public awareness, stronger laws protecting children, and legislative action

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J.M. v. W.T.

Docket: B296295(Second Appellate District)

Opinion Date: March 25, 2020

Judge: Kim

Areas of Law: Family Law

The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's order denying plaintiff's petition for a domestic violence protective order pursuant to Family Code section 6200 et seq., the Domestic Violence Prevention Act. The court held that the trial court abused its discretion in denying plaintiff's request for a continuance of the hearing where the basis for the trial court's denial was unclear; to the extent the trial court denied the request because plaintiff did not serve defendant with notice of either the request for a protective order or the request for a continuance before the January 29, 2019, hearing, section 245 does not require any such prior service; and plaintiff demonstrated good cause for a continuance of at least a few days. Finally, the court need not address plaintiff's remaining arguments concerning the trial court's denial of the request for a protective order.