Transaction Search Form: please type in any of the fields below.
Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 11:40 pm
Time: 11:40 pm
Results for mandatory sentencing
2 results foundAuthor: Berry, William W., III Title: Eighth Amendment Presumptions: A Constitutional Framework for Curbing Mass Incarceration Summary: The Supreme Court's conceptualization of the Eighth Amendment over the past decade has focused on narrow exceptions to the ability of the states to punish criminal offenders, excising particular punishments based on characteristics of the offender or crime. What is missing, however, is a set of broader guiding principles delineating the line between acceptable and impermissible punishments. The Court itself, in Kennedy v. Louisiana, acknowledged as much, describing the case law as "still in search of a unifying principle." In light of this vacuum, this article proposes a new approach to the application of the Eighth Amendment. The absence of regulation of excessive and disproportionate punishments by state legislatures over the past two decades has resulted in the largest prison population in the history of the human race. Instead of merely being a tool that merely removes a few types of offenses and offenders from the purview of state legislatures, the Eighth Amendment should also serve as a more robust guide to shape state penal practices. To that end, this Article argues for the development of a series of Eighth Amendment presumptions - guiding principles that would govern the punishment practices of legislatures without excluding them from the conversation. Currently, the Eighth Amendment serves to identify the constitutional "exceptions" to the "rules" promulgated by the legislatures. This Article's approach would reverse that status quo, with the Court articulating general rules and the legislatures then developing (and justifying through careful study) the exceptions to the rules. Indeed, an examination of the Court's Eighth Amendment cases suggests this "presumptive" sentiment is already implicit in much of the thinking of the Court. Part I of the Article briefly explains the shortcomings of the current evolving standards of decency doctrine and its devastating consequences. Part II of the Article explores the concept of presumptions, exploring how presumptions operate and demonstrating their virtues. The Article then argues in Part III for the reimagining of the Eighth Amendment as an Amendment of constitutional presumptions combining elements from the Court's past cases with the needs arising from three decades of neglecting the decisions of legislatures. Finally, Part IV demonstrates how this conceptual framework would work in practice. Details: University, MS: University of Mississippi School of Law, 2015. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 26, 2015 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2567962 Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2567962 Shelf Number: 134680 Keywords: Death Penalty (U.S.)Mandatory SentencingParolePunishmentSentencingSupreme Court |
Author: Cohen, Derek Title: Texas' Mandatory Sentencing Enhancements Summary: Key Points - Sentencing enhancements have been part of American jurisprudence for decades. - However, no studies have routinely shown benefit to public safety attributable to these enhancements. - Further, these enhancements have the chance of ensnaring low-level nonviolent felons for sentences that far outweigh the crime Details: Austin: Texas Public Policy Foundation, Center for Effective Justice, 2016. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 12, 2016 at: http://www.texaspolicy.com/library/doclib/Texas-Mandatory-Sentencing-Enhancements.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.texaspolicy.com/library/doclib/Texas-Mandatory-Sentencing-Enhancements.pdf Shelf Number: 146692 Keywords: Mandatory SentencingSentencingSentencing Reform |