The Los Angeles Times has this effective opinion about California’s exorbitant prison costs: Lawmakers are crying foul about the added burden on the budget, even though they have no one but themselves to blame.…
Judgment Day Posts
SCOTUSblog has two Baze updates: “First post-Baze maneuvers” and “Baze Commentary: Justice Stevens’ Concurrence”. Highlights for the first update, second is provided in full: “First post-Baze maneuvers“: The state of Florida moved quickly on Thursday…
The Washington Post has this article today. Here’s the intro: The Senate moved yesterday toward asking the Justice Department for a criminal investigation of a $10 million legislative earmark whose provisions were mysteriously altered…
For most, the moratorium is over.The Supreme Court’s decision in Baze yesterday has generated hundreds of news stories. Here are two interesting pieces: “Lethal injections ruled not cruel punishment”; Discussing when executions in…
The Fifth Circuit Blog has a post today titled, “Begin the Begay (-Based Arguments, That Is): SCOTUS Holds Felony DUI Not an ACCA “Violent Felony.” Here’s the intro: Today’s Supreme Court news will likely be…
The Supreme Court has posted the oral argument transcript from the Kennedy case on its website. You can access the 73-page document here. The Dallas Morning News has this article discussing this morning’s arguments; “U.S. Supreme Court hears Texas…
Straight from SCOTUSblog: Today’s opinion by Justice Breyer in Begay v. United States (06-11543) is now available here. Justice Scalia filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Justice Alito filed a dissenting opinion, in…
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments this morning in Kennedy v. Louisiana, a case involving the constitutionality of imposing the death penalty for child rape. In 1976 the Supreme Court…
This story appeared late last night in The Dallas Morning News and discusses the case of Thomas Clifford McGowan Jr. who has spent 23 years in prison after being convicted of rape and burglary…
The Baltimore Sun has a great op-ed piece here about the Maryland Legislature and how it refuses to go “soft” on nonviolent drug offenders. Ronald Fraser writes the following: During the recent session of…