Showing posts with label justice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label justice. Show all posts

Prison Sentences Based On Crimes Not Yet Committed

by Barry-Jester, Casselman and Goldstein.   Criminal sentencing has long been based on the present crime and, sometimes, the defendant’s past criminal record. In Pennsylvania, judges could soon consider a new dimension: the future. Pennsylvania is on the verge of becoming one of the first states in the country to base criminal sentences not only on  ... MORE

Ilya Somin: Rethinking Jury Nullification

The jury's equivalent power to prosecutorial discretion. Jury nullification occurs when jurors choose not to convict a defendant they believe to be guilty of the offense charged, usually because they conclude that the law in question is unjust or the punishment is excessive. When I first thought about jury nullification as a young law student,    ... MORE

Matthew Christ: Jury Nullification Is A Moral Duty

A power for the people.   Jury nullification does not exist and no jury or defendant has the right for an instruction regarding jury nullification. I am sure that some of you have just punched your monitors, or are incensed at my hubris for speaking the truth.  In libertarian circles, some topics get so occluded with angst that we forget it is impossible   ... MORE

Jury Trials Keep The Government Under Control

by Nathan Wente.    Because justice is a result, not just a process. The 6th Amendment states: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed…” The right to a jury trial should be, and was designed to be by our     ... MORE

Felony Murder Case Linked To Marijuana Deal Illustrates The Need For Jurors To Know About Jury Nullification

Because justice is a result, not just a process.    A murder case that prompted a Wichita woman’s run for governor last year is in the hands of a Sedgwick County jury. Kyler Carriker, the son of former gubernatorial candidate Jennifer Winn, faces a life sentence without parole eligibility for 20 years if he is convicted of first-degree felony murder in the  ... MORE

The Making of the American Police State

by Christian Parenti.  How did we get here? The numbers are chilling: 2.2 million people behind bars, another 4.7 million on parole or probation. Even small-town cops are armed like soldiers, with a thoroughly militarized southern border. The common leftist explanation for this is “the prison-industrial complex,” suggesting that the buildup is largely    ... MORE

Drug War Update: Man Facing Felony Murder Charge For Telling An Acquaintance Where He Could Find Marijuana

by Matt Agorist.   Does it matter that he did nothing morally wrong? Kyler Carriker is a loving husband and a father whose life could be ruined because of the ridiculous nature of the state’s war on drugs. According to Carriker’s family, on April 17, 2013, Carriker and a friend had finished work and were headed out to go fishing. They were stopped by  ... MORE

The Tyranny Of The Criminal Justice System

by John W. Whitehead.   The American nightmare. Justice in America is not all it’s cracked up to be. Just ask Jeffrey Deskovic, who spent 16 years in prison for a rape and murder he did not commit. James Bain spent 35 years in prison for the kidnapping and rape of a 9-year-old boy, but he too was innocent of the crime. He was finally freed after DNA  ... MORE

110 Year-Old Case Still Inspires Supreme Court Debates

by George Will.     What potential nominees should be asked. Today's most interesting debate about governance concerns a 110-year-old Supreme Court decision. Two participants in this debate are the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and a justice on the Supreme Court of Texas. The latter is trouncing the former. In his same-sex      ... MORE

Drug-Planting Judge Gets 5 Years In Federal Prison

by Kathryn Rubino.    From high atop their perch on the bench, judges seem like masters of their domain, making decisions and occasionally creating laws that have a real-world impact on the peons in front of them. So there is some natural schadenfreude when judges find themselves at the mercy of a court, especially when they are accused of    ... MORE

R Watson And J Burnham: Separation Of Powers, A Primer

Learn the Founder's vision.  Constitutional concepts like free speech or the right to bear arms are ingrained in our popular culture, but just 36% of Americans can name all three branches of the federal government. Even fewer understand why and how our Constitution allocates power among the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches. As we       ... MORE

Supremes: From 'Divine Nine' To Political Hacks

by Barry Farber.     5 STARS!    One of Hollywood’s most horrible scenes has just come true on Page 1. In “The Counterfeit Traitor,” Lilli Palmer played a German woman who recognized Hitler was a monster and fed information to Allied intelligence on which oil refineries should be bombed next; she worked with the title character, played by      ... MORE

Scalia's Impossible Possiblity: High Court Resigns Duties, Tortures English Language In Order To Save ObamaCare

by Robby Soave.     The High Court plays politics. In his 1946 essay, Politics and the English Language, George Orwell observed that “the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.” Today is Orwell’s birthday; it’s also the day the Supreme Court released its 6-3 decision in King v. Burwell, which preserves  ... MORE

House Bill Would Force Supremes To Enroll In ObamaCare

by Mark Hensch.    Justices could be victimized by Congressional ruling. A House Republican on Thursday proposed forcing the Supreme Court justices and their staff to enroll in ObamaCare. Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) said that his SCOTUScare Act would make all nine justices and their employees join the national healthcare law’s exchanges.     ... MORE

7 Bad Laws Undone By Good Jurors

A proud tradition of doing right when the law is wrong.  What is Jury Nullification? You won’t find it defined in your dictionary or described in your encyclopedia. You weren’t taught about it in school, and indeed it is even considered a crime to tell other people about it in some circumstances. Imagine that for a moment – it is a crime to   ... MORE

Kate Vinton: Feds Subpoena Libertarian Media Site Over Posted Reader Comments Threatening Silk Road Judge

Rhetorical criticism treated as actual threats.  The Department of Justice issued a grand jury subpoena to Reason.com last week, asking the libertarian media site for the identities of six readers who had posted comments threatening Silk Road Judge Katherine Forrest. Blogger Ken White obtained the subpoena and published it in a post on      ... MORE

Dreadful Criminal Justice System Destroyed Kalief Browder

by Scott Schackford.   Elizabeth Nolan Brown linked to a piece at The New Yorker this morning about the suicide of Kalief Browder, 22, who spent three years at Rikers Island, often stuck in solitary confinement, without ever seeing a trial. The journalist, Jennifer Gonnerman, originally dove deep into Browder's case back in October, and it's worthy  ... MORE

JURY NULLIFICATION: Jury Sends Message To Cops, Chase After REAL CRIMINALS; Acquits Man On Felony Pot Charges

by Matt Agorist.    In an emotional courtroom display Friday, Steven Ficano, 65, embraced his attorney and his wife after the jury read their verdict of “not guilty.” In 2012, Ficano’s house was raided by heroes protecting the citizens of Nevada from the horrors of marijuana plants. For the next three years, Ficano anxiously lived his life thinking that  ... MORE

Rand Paul Says The Republican Brand Is 'Broken'

by Theodore Schleifer.       Presidential candidate Rand Paul has christened himself a different kind of Republican, and now he's embracing a unique moniker: tree hugger. In a new book released on Tuesday, Paul said he composts and believes in clean air and clean water. Paul notes that he has planted giant sequoias in his yard and repurposed old    ... MORE