Husak, Douglas
Doug HusakDouglas N. Husak
Professor II

Contact Information
Office:Seminary 3 - 301
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Phone:(732) 932-9861

Education
B.A., Denison University; Ph.D. and J.D., Ohio State University
Speciality
Philosophy of Law
Research
I am interested in all aspects of legal philosophy. More narrowly, I am interested in the connections between moral philosophy and the substantive criminal law---especially decisions about criminalization and the moral limits of the criminal sanction. This latter interest has led me to critically examine the rationale for drug prohibitions.
Publications
Published Books (or forthcoming)
  • Overcriminalization (Oxford University Press, 2008), 231 pages.
  • The Legalization of Drugs (co-authored with Peter de Marneffe) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, For & Against Series, 2005), 103 pages (my half).
  • Legalize This! The Case for Decriminalizing Drugs (London: Verso, 2002), 197 pages.
    Translated into Spanish by Anna Varela Mateos (Madrid: Foca, 2003).
  • Drugs and Rights (Cambridge University Press, 1992), 312 pages.
    Translated into Spanish by Gustavo de Greiff (Mexico: El Fonda de Cultura Economica, with new preface, 2001).
    Reprinted in part in Daniel Bonevac, ed.: Today's Moral Problems (Mayfield Pub. Co., 2d.ed., 1995; 3d.ed., 1999; 4th ed., 2001).
    Reprinted in part in Current Moral and Social Issues (Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co., 1996).
    Reprinted in part in Judith Boss, ed.: Analyzing Moral Issues (Mayfield Pub. Co., 1st ed., 1999; McGraw-Hill, 2d.ed., 2002, 3d.ed., 2004, 4th ed., 2007).
  • The Philosophy of Criminal Law (Rowman & Littlefield, 1987), 260 pages.
    Translated into Chinese by Xie Wangyuan (1995); second Chinese edition with new preface (2004).
Edited Book
  • Globalizacion y Drogas: Politicas Sobre Drogas, Derechos Humanos y Reduccion de Riesgos, edited by Xabier Arana, Douglas Husak and Sebastian Scherrer (Dykinson: Instituto Internacional De Sociologia Juridica De Onati, 2003)
Published Articles in Journals (or forthcoming
  • "The Costs to Criminal Theory of Supposing that Intentions are Irrelevant to Permissibility," Criminal Law and Philosophy (forthcoming, 2008).
  • "Illicit Drugs: A Test Case of Joel Feinberg's The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law," Libertaria (forthcoming, 2008).
  • "Why Criminal Law: A Question of Content?" 2 Criminal Law and Philosophy (forthcoming, 2008).
  • "Rethinking the Act Requirement," 28 Cardozo Law Review (forthcoming, 2007).
  • "On the Supposed Priority of Justification to Excuse", 24 Law and Philosophy (2005), pp.557-594.
  • "Comparative Fault in Criminal Law: Conceptual and Normative Perplexities", 8 Buffalo Journal of Criminal Law (2005), pp.101-119.
  • "Applying Ultima Ratio: A Skeptical Assessment", The Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law (2005).
    Reprinted in K.Naga Sri Valli, ed: White Collar Crimes (Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India, forthcoming, 2007).
  • "Vehicles and Crashes: Why Is This Moral Issue Overlooked"? 30 Social Theory and Practice (2004), pp.351-370.
    Reprinted in Stuart Rachels, ed: The Right Thing To Do (Boston: McGraw-Hill, 4th ed, forthcoming, 2007).
  • "Crimes Outside the Core", 39 Tulsa Law Review (2004), pp.755-780.
  • "What moral philosophers might learn from criminal theorists", 36 Rutgers Law Journal (2004), pp.191-198.
  • "The Criminal Law as Last Resort", 24 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies (2004), pp.207-235.
  • "Guns and Drugs: Case Studies on the Principled Limits of the Criminal Sanction", Law and Philosophy (forthcoming, 2004).
  • "The Moral Relevance of Addiction", 39 Substance Use and Misuse (2004), pp.399-436.
    Reprinted in John Kleinig and Stan Einstein, eds: Intervening In Drug Use: Ethical Issues (Huntsville, Texas: Office of International Criminal Justice, 2006).
  • "Four Points About Drug Decriminalization", 22 Criminal Justice Ethics (2003), pp.21-29.
    Reprinted in Hugh LaFollette, ed: Ethics in Practice (Blackwell, 3d.ed, 2006).
    Reprinted in Hugh T. Wilson, ed: Drugs, Society & Behavior (McGraw-Hill, 12th ed, 2005).
  • "Is the Criminal Law Important?" 1 The Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law (2003), pp.261-271.
  • "Rapes Without Rapists: Consent and Reasonable Mistake", (George C. Thomas, co-author) 11 Philosophical Issues (2001), pp.86-117.
  • "Relativisitic Justifications", 19 Law and Philosophy (2000), pp.641-644.
  • "Retribution in Criminal Theory", 37 San Diego Law Review (2000), pp.959-986.
  • "Liberal Neutrality, Autonomy, and Drug Prohibitions", 29 Philosophy & Public Affairs (2000), pp.43-80.
    Reprinted in Steven M. Cahn and Tziporah Kasachkoff, eds: Morality And Public Policy (Prentice-Hall, 2003).
  • "Holistic Retributivism", 88 California Law Review (2000), pp.27-36.
  • "Addiction and Criminal Liability", 18 Law and Philosophy (1999), pp.655-684.
  • "Of Innocence and Innocents: The Supreme Court and Mens Rea Since Herbert Packer", (Richard Singer, co-author) 2 Buffalo Criminal Law Review (1999), pp.859-943.
  • "Conflicts of Justifications", 18 Law and Philosophy (1999), pp.41-68.
    Reprinted in Alessandro Spena, ed.: Rights and Justifications in Criminal Law (Milan, Italy: Giuffre, forthcoming, 2008).
  • "One of the Major Problems of Our Society: Imagery and Evidence of Drug Harms in U.S. Supreme Court Decisions", (Stanton Peele, co-author) 25 Contemporary Drug Problems (1998), pp.191-233.
  • "Partial Defenses", XI Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence (1998), pp.167-192.
  • "Reasonable Risk Creation and Overinclusive Legislation", 1 Buffalo Criminal Law Review (1998), pp.599-626.
  • "The But Everybody Does That! Defense", 10 Public Affairs Quarterly (1996), pp.307-334.
  • "The Sequential Principle of Relative Culpability", 1 Legal Theory (1996), pp.457-482.
  • "Transferred Intent", 10 Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy (1996), pp. 65-97.
  • "Varieties of Strict Liability", VIII Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence (1995), pp.189-225.
  • "The Nature and Justifiability of Nonconsummate Offenses", 37 Arizona Law Review (1995), pp.151-195.
    Reprinted in Russell Weaver, et.al., eds.: Criminal Law Anthology (Anderson Pub. Co., 1998).
    Reprinted in Jonathan Herring, ed.: Criminal Law: Text, Cases & Materials (3d. ed, 2008).
  • "Is Drunk Driving a Serious Offense?" 23 Philosophy and Public Affairs (1994), pp.52-73.
  • "Ignorance of Law and Duties of Citizenship", 14 Legal Studies (1994), pp.105-115.
  • "Wilful Ignorance and the Equal Culpability Thesis: A Study of the Significance of the Principle of Legality", (Craig Callender, co-author) Wisconsin Law Review (1994), pp.29-69.
    Reprinted in Tom Morawetz, ed.: International Library of Essays in Law and Legal Theory (Ashgate Pub., 2d.Series, 2000).
  • "The Serial View of Criminal Law Defenses", 3 Criminal Law Forum (1992), pp.369-400.
  • "Time Frames, Voluntary Acts, and Strict Liability", (Brian McLaughlin, co-author) 12 Law and Philosophy (1992), pp.95-120.
  • "Date Rape, Social Convention, and Reasonable Mistakes", (George Thomas, co-author) 11 Law and Philosophy (1992), pp.95-126.
    Reprinted in part in Sanford Kadish and Stephen Schulhofer, eds.: Criminal Law and Its Processes (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 6th ed., 1995; and 7th ed., 2001).
    Reprinted in part in Richard Singer and Martin Gardner, eds.: Crimes and Punishments (New York: Matthew Bender, 2d.ed., 1996).
    Reprinted in Lori Gruen and George Panichas, eds.: Sex, Morality, and the Law (New York: Routledge, 1997).
    Reprinted in Russell Weaver, et.al., eds.: Readings in Criminal Law (Cincinnati: Anderson Pub. Co., 1998),
    Reprinted in Current Moral and Social Issues (Kendall-Hunt, 1998).
  • "Why Punish the Deserving?" 26 Nous (1992), pp.447-464.

  • "The Orthodox Model of the Criminal Offense", 10 Criminal Justice Ethics (1991), pp.20-23.
  • "Already Punished Enough", 18 Philosophical Topics (1990), pp.79-99.
  • "Recreational Drugs and Paternalism", 8 Law and Philosophy (1989), pp.353-381.
    Reprinted in Michael Gorr and Sterling Hardwood, eds.: Crime and Punishment: Philosophic Explorations (Boston: Jones and Bartlett, 1995).
  • "Justifications and the Criminal Liability of Accessories", 80 Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1989), pp.201-230.
  • "Motive and Criminal Liability", 8 Criminal Justice Ethics (1989), pp.3-14.
    Reprinted in part in Richard Singer and Martin Gardner, eds.: Crimes and Punishments (New York: Matthew Bender, 2d.ed., 1996).
  • "Is the Distinction Between Positive Actions and Omissions Value-Neutral?" XXXIII Tulane Studies in Philosophy (1985), pp.83-92.
  • "The Motivation for Human Rights", 11 Social Theory and Practice (1985), pp.249-255.
  • "What is So Special About [Free] Speech", 4 Law and Philosophy (1985), pp.1-15.
  • "Why There Are No Human Rights", 10 Social Theory and Practice, (1984), pp.125-141.
    Reprinted in Morton Winston, ed. The Philosophy of Human Rights (Belmont: Wadsworth Pub. Co., 1989).
    Reprinted in Elizabeth Smith and H. Gene Blocker, eds.: Applied Social and Political Philosophy: A Reader (Prentice-Hall, 1992).
    Reprinted in Patrick Hayden, ed.: Theories of Human Rights: Readings in Context (University Press of America, forthcoming, 2000).
    Reproduced in Donald Abel: Discourses (Primis: McGraw-Hills Online Philosophy Database, 2003.
  • "The Presumption of Freedom", Nous (1983), pp.345-362.
  • "Obscenity and Speech", 16 Journal of Value Inquiry (1982), pp.21-27.
  • "Paternalism and Autonomy", 10 Philosophy and Public Affairs (1980), pp.27-46.
  • "Omissions, Causation, and Liability", 30 Philosophical Quarterly (1980), pp.316-326.
    Reprinted in Patricia Smith, ed.: The Nature and Process of Law (Oxford University Press, 1993).
  • "On the Rights of Non-Persons", X Canadian Journal of Philosophy (1980), pp.607-622.
  • "Applied Ethics for Prospective Law Students", 8 Teaching Philosophy (1980), pp.301-306.
  • "Killing, Letting Die, and Euthanasia", 5 Journal of Medical Ethics (1979), pp.200-205.
  • "Benn on Privacy and Respect for Persons", (Stephen Hudson, co-author), 57 Australasian Journal of Philosophy (1979), pp.324-329.
  • "Sovereigns and Third-Party Beneficiaries", 13 Journal of Value Inquiry (1979), pp.149-153.
  • "Ronald Dworkin and the Right to Liberty", Ethics (1979), pp.121-130.
  • "Legal Rights: How Useful Is Hohfeldian Analysis?" (Stephen Hudson, co-author), Philosophical Studies (1979), pp.45-53.
  • "University Practices of Preferential Hiring and Reverse Discrimination In Favor of Blacks: A Moral Analysis", American Journal of Jurisprudence (1979), pp.143-168.
  • "Disease and Christopher Boorse", 1 Metamed (1977), pp.297-302.
Published Chapters in Books (or forthcoming)
  • "Paternalism and Consent" (forthcoming in Franklin G. Miller and Alan Wertheimer, eds.: The Ethics of Consent, Oxford University Press, forthcoming, 2008).
  • "Justice and the Drug Court Movement," (forthcoming)
  • "Indirect Criminal Paternalism," in Andrew von Hirsch and Ulfrid Neumann, eds.: Paternalism in Criminal Law (forthcoming, 2009).
  • "Five Answers," in Ian Farrell and Morten Ebbe Juul Nielsen, eds: Legal Philosophy: Five Questions (Automatic Press, 2007), pp.113-124.
  • "What is Punishment Imposed For?" in Russell Christopher, ed: Essays in Honor of George Fletcher (Oxford University Press, forthcoming, 2008).
  • "Do Marijuana Offenders Deserve Punishment?" in Mitch Earlywine, ed: Pot Politics: The Cost of Control (Oxford University Press, 2007).
  • "Disgust: Metaphysical and Empirical Speculations", in Andrew Simester and Andrew von Hirsch, eds: Offence and the Criminal Law (Oxford University Press, 2006), pp.91-113.
  • "Competing Rationales for Drug Policy Reform", in Jefferson Fish, ed: Drugs and Society (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006), pp.97-125.
  • "Malum Prohibitum and Retributivism", in R.A. Duff and Stuart Green, eds: Defining Crimes: Essays on the Special Part of Criminal Law (Oxford University Press, 2005), pp.65-90.
  • "Strict Liability, Justice, and Proportionality, in A.P. Simester, ed: Appraising Strict Liability (Oxford University Press, 2005), pp.81-103.
  • "How Rights Constrain Drug Policy", in Xabier Arana, Douglas Husak and Sebastian Scherrer, eds: Globalizacion y Drogas: Politicas Sobre Drogas, Derechos Humanos y Reduccion de Riesgos (Dykinson: Instituto Internacional De Sociologia Juridica De Onati, 2003), pp.47-52.
  • "Limitations on Criminalization and the General Part of Criminal Law", in Stephen Shute and Andrew Simester, eds: Criminal Law: Doctrines of the General Part (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), pp.13-46.
  • "Reflective Equilibrium Between Punishment and Crime", in Petter Asp, Carl Herlitz, and Lena Holmqvist, eds.: Festskrift for Nils Jareborg (Iustus Pub. Co., 2002), pp.345-368).
  • "Two Rationales for Drug Policy: How They Shape the Content of Reform", in Jefferson Fish, ed.: How to Legalize Drugs (Jason Aronson, 1998), pp.29-60.
  • "Desert, Proportionality, and the Seriousness of Drug Offences", in Andrew Ashworth and Martin Wasik, eds.: Fundamentals of Sentencing Theory (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998), pp.187-219.
  • "Does Criminal Responsibility Require an Act?" in R.A. Duff. ed.: Philosophy and the Criminal Law (Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp.60-100.
  • "Culpability and Mistake of Law", (Andrew von Hirsch, co-author), in John Gardner, Jeremy Horder, and Stephen Shute, eds.: Action and Value in Criminal Law (Oxford University Press, 1993), pp.157-174.
  • "Can Drug Laws Be Justified As Anticipatory Offenses?" in Arnold Trebach and Kevin Zeese, eds.: Strategies for Change: New Directions in Drug Policy (Washington: Drug Policy Foundation, 1992),pp.89-95.
  • "Is It Important Whether Capital Punishment Deters?" in Diane Sank and David Caplan, eds. To Be A Victim (Plenum Press, 1991), pp.379-394.
Encyclopedia and Handook Entries
  • "Overcriminalization," in Dennis Pattterson, ed: Blackwell Companion to the Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory (2nd ed, forthcoming, 2008).
  • "Legalization of Drugs", in Anita Silvers, Leslie Francis, and Rosamond Rhodes, eds: The Blackwell Guide to Medical Ethics (Blackwell, 2007), pp.238-253.
  • "Criminal Law Theory", in William Edmundson and Martin Golding, eds.:Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory (2004).
  • "Legal Paternalism", in Hugh LaFollette, ed.: Oxford Handbook of Practical Ethics (Oxford University Press, 2003), pp.387-412.
  • "Drugs and Crime: Legal Aspects", in Joshua Dressler, ed.: Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice (Macmillan, 2d.ed. 2001).
  • "Consent", (pp.227-228);
    "Drugs", (pp.148-150);
    "Intent", (pp.425-428)
    in Christopher Gray, ed.: The Philosophy of Law: An Encyclopedia (Garland Pub. Co., 1999).
    "Intent" reprinted in David Adams, ed.: Philosophical Problems in the Law (4th.ed., Wadsworth, 2004; 5th ed., 2005).
  • Drugs: Moral; and Legal Issues, in Ruth Chadwick, ed.: The Encyclopedia of Aplied Ethics (Academic Press, 1997), pp.849-858.
Published Reviews and Noted
  • "Markus Dubber's The Sense of Justice," New Criminal Law Review (forthcoming, 2007).
  • "Mark R. Reiff's Punishment, Compensation, and Law," Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (2006).
  • "Consent to Sex: Alan Wertheimer's Consent to Sexual Relations," 25 Law and Philosophy (2005), pp.257-277.
  • "A Liberal Theory of Excuses: Jeremy Horder's Excusing Crime," 3 Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law (2005), pp.287-299.
  • "The Criminalization of Drug Use," 18 Sociological Forum (2003), pp.503-513.
  • "John Elster's Strong Feelings," XX Philosophy in Review (2000), pp.19-21.
  • "Philosophical Analysis and the Limits of the Substantive Criminal Law: Review of George Fletcher's Basic Concepts of Criminal Law," 18 Criminal Justice Ethics (1999), pp.58-67.
  • "Review of Andrew von Hirsch and Andrew Ashworth, eds.: Principled Sentencing," 110 Ethics (2000), p.256.
  • "The Function and Structure of the Substantive Criminal Law: Review of Paul Robinson's Structure and Function in Criminal Law," 18 Law and Philosophy (1999), pp.85-104.
  • "Review of R.A. Duff's Criminal Attempts," 8 Criminal Law Forum (1997), pp.293-310.
  • "The Complete Guide to Self-Defense: Suzanne Uniacke's Permissible Killing," 15 Law and Philosophy (1995), pp.399-406.
  • "The Relevance of the Concept of Action to the Criminal Law: Michael Moore's Act and Crime," 6 Criminal Law Forum (1995), pp.327-344.
  • "Gerald Dworkin's Morality, Harm and the Law," 105 Ethics (1995), p.976.
  • "Alan White's Misleading Cases," 103 Ethics (1993), p.976.
  • "Stanley Benn's A Theory of Freedom," 26 Nous (1992), pp.400-402.
  • "Michael Bayles' Principles of Law", 8 Law and Philosophy (1989), pp.405-411.
  • "Ramon Lemos' Rights, Goods, and Democracy", Philosophy and Phenomenological Research (1989), pp.541-544.
  • "David Jones' History of Criminal Justice", Criminal Justice History (1989), pp.246-248.
  • "Donald VanDeVeer's Paternalistic Intervention," Canadian Philosophical Reviews (1987), pp.36-39.
  • "Ken Kipnis' and Lawrence Becker's Cases and Materials on Property", 13 Teaching Philosophy (1985), pp.163-165.
  • "Daniel Robinson's Psychology and the Law", 93 Ethics (1983), pp.394-395.
  • "Punishment and Persons: Herbert Morris' On Guilt and Innocence", Contemporary Psychology (1981), pp.207-208.
  • "Ted Hondreich's Political Violence", 12 Nous (1978), pp.221-225.