Many legal commentators are discussing a New York Times article which discusses the failure of the Justice Department to inform the Supreme Court in Kennedy v. Louisiana of a military law which permitted the death penalty for child rape. The Justice Department did not file a brief in the case. Some, including Doug Berman and the Washington Post, suggest that the Supreme Court ought to rehear Kennedy in light of the discovery that the Justices got a key fact about federal law wrong. For more, see the Volokh Conspiracy (1) (2), Bench Memos, Crime and Consequences, Concurring Opinions (1), (2), Wall Street Journal Law Blog, Sentencing Law and Policy. Like Orin Kerr at Volokh, I still don't see that this is a big issue because the military has always had its own rules and never has factored into 8th Amendment evolving standards cases. The omission is a bit embarrasing, but legally inconsequential.
The Weekly Standard has two new editorials discussing the Kennedy decision. One by Matthew Continetti is entitled: An Indecent Decision: Justice Kennedy's atrocious child rape ruling. The other by Erin Sheley is entitled: Dead Men Walking: Why Kennedy v. Louisiana could spell the beginning of the end of the death penalty. Not suprisingly, the Weekly Standard writers are not fans of the Kennedy decision. Right now, I have a bone to pick with the Weekly Standard, but that will have to wait for another post.
The Georgia Supreme Court heard arguments today concerning whether the state's sex-offender registry law is unconstitutional. Public defender Adam Levin, who represents a man facing mandatory life imprisonment for twice failing to register a new address, argues that the law requires sex offenders to provide a route or street address, and it specifically states that an offender cannot use "homeless" as an address. Levin's client allegedly cannot abide by the law because he could not give an address. The Associated Press has more.
Feminist Law Professors has an interesting post discussing a Wisconsin law which makes it a crime for a resident to go out of state and enter into a prohibited marriage (ie same-sex marriage). The crime is punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000, imprisonment of not more than 9 months, or both; Wis. Stat. sec. 765.30. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has more.
The Las Vegas Review has a new editorial discussing a challenge to Nevada's Adam Walsh-compliant law, which will reclassify sex offenders based on the nature of their offense as opposed to their perceived risk of re-offending, amongst other changes. Recently, a federal judge has issued a statewide injunction scheduling arguments on the constitutionality of the law for August.
Recent Comments