Binyamin Blum | The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (original) (raw)

Papers by Binyamin Blum

Brandeis University Press eBooks, Nov 2, 2022

Law & Society Review, 2022

Law and History Review, 2017

On February 23, 1938, a Jerusalem Military Court convicted Mustafa Mansour of the unlawful posses... more On February 23, 1938, a Jerusalem Military Court convicted Mustafa Mansour of the unlawful possession of a weapon and for opening fire at a bus. The prosecution's key witness tying Mansour to the shooting was, however, not human but canine. Due to darkness the police could not pursue the “brigands” immediately following the incident. They returned at dawn accompanied by Doberman Pinschers. The dogs tracked footprints from the crime scene to the defendant's village, and then to his house, where the police discovered a few rounds of ammunition, some of which were spent.

On November 19, 1924, the British Governor-General of the Sudan and commander-in-chief of the Egy... more On November 19, 1924, the British Governor-General of the Sudan and commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Army was assassinated in broad daylight in central Cairo. Though many had witnessed the act, authorities encountered great difficulty in investigating the murder and discovering the offenders. Unable to rely on eyewitnesses, authorities turned to a novel science to try the culprits: forensic ballistics. The murder trial became the first in which the unique markings of a mass-produced weapon were used to determine guilt, sending eight defendants to their death. Following this trial, the novel science of forensic ballistics served to convict other defendants in cases that had until then remained unsolved. By exploring the Egyptian origins of forensic ballistics, this paper illustrates the colonial roots of forensic culture more broadly. It demonstrates forensic science’s necessity in an environment of mutual distrust between colonizers and colonized, and the eagerness of British auth...

Herbert Dowbiggin and the New Vision of Colonial Policing During his twenty-four-year tenure as I... more Herbert Dowbiggin and the New Vision of Colonial Policing During his twenty-four-year tenure as Inspector General of the Ceylon Police, Herbert Dowbiggin introduced considerable reforms into the force. As an internationally renowned authority in policing, Dowbiggin's vision of colonial policing inspired reform throughout the British Empire, and beyond. He was often called to "hot spots" throughout the empire to recommend improvements that would prevent anti-colonial uprising and make policing more effective. Two of the key tenets of Dowbiggin's policing theory were first, closer integration of the police within the communities they served, and second, greater use of forensic technologies to prevent, detect, and investigate crime. According to Dowbiggin, only a combination of both could result in the effective reduction of criminality. This paper explores the tension between these two tenets in Dowbiggin's theory of colonial policing. Whereas the former built on, and fostered stronger bonds between state and society, the latter relied on surveillance and the passiveness of the policed, thus fostering alienation rather than trust. Furthermore, whereas the former sought to align colonial policing with England's domestic model, the latter departed from the policing methods utilized in England, allowing the state to collect and use information that would have been seen as a violation of the subject's rights at home. By tracing the tension between these two tenets, and how Dowbiggin sought to reconcile them, this paper provides historical context to some of the pressing current questions on the relationship between policing and society.

Law & Society Review, 2021

Blum reviews American Contagions: Epidemics and the Law from Smallpox to COVID-19 by John Fabian ... more Blum reviews American Contagions: Epidemics and the Law from Smallpox to COVID-19 by John Fabian Witt

09:30 Greetings Yuval Shany, Dean, Hebrew University Faculty of Law David Schizer, Dean Emeritus,... more 09:30 Greetings Yuval Shany, Dean, Hebrew University Faculty of Law David Schizer, Dean Emeritus, Columbia Law School Mr. Charles Knapp, The Knapp Family Foundation 10:00-11:15 Panel I: The Rights of Peoples Chair: Yael Ronen, Sha’arei Mishpat Academic Center Robert Barnidge, Webster University • The Evolution of Palestinian Arab Proto-Self-Determination and ‘Peoplehood’ During the Mandate for Palestine Wallace Edward Brand, US Department of Justice, ret. • Claim of the Jewish People Under International Law to the Right of Collective Political Self-determination in Palestine

In 2006, as part of Israel's "Constitutional Revolution" the Supreme Court adopted ... more In 2006, as part of Israel's "Constitutional Revolution" the Supreme Court adopted a new exclusionary rule for unlawfully obtained evidence. Ostensibly based on the Canadian model, this exclusionary rule was framed as a significant departure from previous doctrine that did not allow exclusion of unlawfully obtained evidence, enabling courts to only discount its weight. The article shows that this distinction between "admissibility" and "weight" is one borrowed from bifurcated judicial systems but does not translate well into the Israeli unitary judiciary. The jurisprudence concerning the exclusionary rule, it is argued, represents a broader, more troubling phenomenon of legal grafting, whereby Israeli courts mimic other common law jurisdictions without properly accounting for structural differences.

and the other participants at the Exclusionary Rule Symposium at Southwestern Law School for thei... more and the other participants at the Exclusionary Rule Symposium at Southwestern Law School for their questions, comments and observations on the talk upon which this article is based. I thank Ruth-Gavison for her useful insights. I would also like to thank Brandon Fischer, Jenny-Anne Sinson, Hagar Cohen and the board members of the Southwestern Journal of International Law who invited me to participate in the Symposium and who have worked tirelessly on preparing this article for publication. Last but not least, I would like to thank my life-partner, Emily Schoenfeld, for her unwavering support in this and every other endeavor. 1. 5 Jeremy Bentham, RATIONALE OF JUDICIAL EVIDENCE SPECIALLY APPLIED TO ENOLISH PRACTICE 34 (1827).

Stan. L. Rev., Jan 1, 2007

Brandeis University Press eBooks, Nov 2, 2022

Law & Society Review, 2022

Law and History Review, 2017

On February 23, 1938, a Jerusalem Military Court convicted Mustafa Mansour of the unlawful posses... more On February 23, 1938, a Jerusalem Military Court convicted Mustafa Mansour of the unlawful possession of a weapon and for opening fire at a bus. The prosecution's key witness tying Mansour to the shooting was, however, not human but canine. Due to darkness the police could not pursue the “brigands” immediately following the incident. They returned at dawn accompanied by Doberman Pinschers. The dogs tracked footprints from the crime scene to the defendant's village, and then to his house, where the police discovered a few rounds of ammunition, some of which were spent.

On November 19, 1924, the British Governor-General of the Sudan and commander-in-chief of the Egy... more On November 19, 1924, the British Governor-General of the Sudan and commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Army was assassinated in broad daylight in central Cairo. Though many had witnessed the act, authorities encountered great difficulty in investigating the murder and discovering the offenders. Unable to rely on eyewitnesses, authorities turned to a novel science to try the culprits: forensic ballistics. The murder trial became the first in which the unique markings of a mass-produced weapon were used to determine guilt, sending eight defendants to their death. Following this trial, the novel science of forensic ballistics served to convict other defendants in cases that had until then remained unsolved. By exploring the Egyptian origins of forensic ballistics, this paper illustrates the colonial roots of forensic culture more broadly. It demonstrates forensic science’s necessity in an environment of mutual distrust between colonizers and colonized, and the eagerness of British auth...

Herbert Dowbiggin and the New Vision of Colonial Policing During his twenty-four-year tenure as I... more Herbert Dowbiggin and the New Vision of Colonial Policing During his twenty-four-year tenure as Inspector General of the Ceylon Police, Herbert Dowbiggin introduced considerable reforms into the force. As an internationally renowned authority in policing, Dowbiggin's vision of colonial policing inspired reform throughout the British Empire, and beyond. He was often called to "hot spots" throughout the empire to recommend improvements that would prevent anti-colonial uprising and make policing more effective. Two of the key tenets of Dowbiggin's policing theory were first, closer integration of the police within the communities they served, and second, greater use of forensic technologies to prevent, detect, and investigate crime. According to Dowbiggin, only a combination of both could result in the effective reduction of criminality. This paper explores the tension between these two tenets in Dowbiggin's theory of colonial policing. Whereas the former built on, and fostered stronger bonds between state and society, the latter relied on surveillance and the passiveness of the policed, thus fostering alienation rather than trust. Furthermore, whereas the former sought to align colonial policing with England's domestic model, the latter departed from the policing methods utilized in England, allowing the state to collect and use information that would have been seen as a violation of the subject's rights at home. By tracing the tension between these two tenets, and how Dowbiggin sought to reconcile them, this paper provides historical context to some of the pressing current questions on the relationship between policing and society.

Law & Society Review, 2021

Blum reviews American Contagions: Epidemics and the Law from Smallpox to COVID-19 by John Fabian ... more Blum reviews American Contagions: Epidemics and the Law from Smallpox to COVID-19 by John Fabian Witt

09:30 Greetings Yuval Shany, Dean, Hebrew University Faculty of Law David Schizer, Dean Emeritus,... more 09:30 Greetings Yuval Shany, Dean, Hebrew University Faculty of Law David Schizer, Dean Emeritus, Columbia Law School Mr. Charles Knapp, The Knapp Family Foundation 10:00-11:15 Panel I: The Rights of Peoples Chair: Yael Ronen, Sha’arei Mishpat Academic Center Robert Barnidge, Webster University • The Evolution of Palestinian Arab Proto-Self-Determination and ‘Peoplehood’ During the Mandate for Palestine Wallace Edward Brand, US Department of Justice, ret. • Claim of the Jewish People Under International Law to the Right of Collective Political Self-determination in Palestine

In 2006, as part of Israel's "Constitutional Revolution" the Supreme Court adopted ... more In 2006, as part of Israel's "Constitutional Revolution" the Supreme Court adopted a new exclusionary rule for unlawfully obtained evidence. Ostensibly based on the Canadian model, this exclusionary rule was framed as a significant departure from previous doctrine that did not allow exclusion of unlawfully obtained evidence, enabling courts to only discount its weight. The article shows that this distinction between "admissibility" and "weight" is one borrowed from bifurcated judicial systems but does not translate well into the Israeli unitary judiciary. The jurisprudence concerning the exclusionary rule, it is argued, represents a broader, more troubling phenomenon of legal grafting, whereby Israeli courts mimic other common law jurisdictions without properly accounting for structural differences.

and the other participants at the Exclusionary Rule Symposium at Southwestern Law School for thei... more and the other participants at the Exclusionary Rule Symposium at Southwestern Law School for their questions, comments and observations on the talk upon which this article is based. I thank Ruth-Gavison for her useful insights. I would also like to thank Brandon Fischer, Jenny-Anne Sinson, Hagar Cohen and the board members of the Southwestern Journal of International Law who invited me to participate in the Symposium and who have worked tirelessly on preparing this article for publication. Last but not least, I would like to thank my life-partner, Emily Schoenfeld, for her unwavering support in this and every other endeavor. 1. 5 Jeremy Bentham, RATIONALE OF JUDICIAL EVIDENCE SPECIALLY APPLIED TO ENOLISH PRACTICE 34 (1827).

Stan. L. Rev., Jan 1, 2007