Open Menu Open Menu

    St. Thomas Law Review

    Criminal Law

    Criminal LawFeaturedFederal Law

    Federal Murder-for-Hire Prosecutions: The Financial Benefactor Dilemma

    October 13, 2026By Nadia Jordan

    In August 2022, a shooting at a Los Angeles gas station targeted rapper Tyquain Bowman, professionally known as Quando Rondo.[i]  While Bowman survived the shooting, his cousin, Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson, was killed.[ii]  Federal prosecutors later charged Durk Banks, a recording artist and performer known as Lil Durk, with an alleged murder-for-hire charge tied to […]

    Read More

    Criminal Justice SystemCriminal LawEvidenceMental Health

    When Madness Has a Method: What the Lindsay Clancy Trial Reveals About the Insanity Defense

    September 29, 2026By Gianelle Cabrera

    Few criminal defenses generate as much controversy as the insanity defense.[i]  To some, a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity sounds like an escape from responsibility.[ii]  To others, punishing a person who could not understand the nature or wrongfulness of her actions undermines the basic principles upon which criminal liability rests.  Madness does […]

    Read More

    Constitutional LawCriminal LawFeaturedSixth Amendment

    Witness Tampering on My Mind: What the YNW Melly Trial Reveals About Pretrial Justice

    March 31, 2026By Crystal Couso

    When a party alleges a witness has been tampered with, they invoke one of the justice system’s most critical procedural safeguards: the protection of witness testimony and the preservation of judicial integrity.  The prosecution of rapper Jamell Demons, famously known as YNW Melly (“Melly”), has brought this concern to focus.  In 2018, Melly was charged […]

    Read More

    Constitutional LawCriminal LawFeatured

    From Accountability to Intrusion: Police Body-Worn Cameras and Constitutional Tensions in Florida Policing

    March 17, 2026By Jennifer Fanea

    What happens when a police officer activates his body-worn camera while responding to a disturbance at a private residence and weeks later, without the homeowner’s knowledge or consent, the owner learns that the footage of his living room, arrest, and emotional reactions was reviewed by officers and used to shape testimony? This commonplace inquiry illustrates […]

    Read More

    Back to Top