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ON THE DEFENSIVE: Children need shields from adult courts
In the past decade, there have been a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions interpreting the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment,” as it applies to juvenile defendants.
Justices: Court-ordered psych evidence doesn’t violate 5th Amendment
Defendants who offer a diminished capacity defense cannot seek to exclude rebuttal evidence from court-ordered mental evaluations on Fifth Amendment grounds, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kansas v. Cheever.
Court: Reduced crack sentences not retroactive
A 2010 law designed to eliminate harsher sentences for black offenders convicted of crack cocaine crimes should not apply retroactively, a federal appeals court ruled in a deeply divided decision that several dissenting judges wrote amounts to furthering racial discrimination.
ON THE DEFENSIVE: The dangerous reach of civil forfeiture laws
Law enforcement officers for years have taken advantage of overly broad civil forfeiture laws.
7th Circuit says life sentence for crack dealer doesn’t violate Eighth Amendment
The Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment does not preclude a mandatory life sentence for dealers who possess a smaller quantity of crack cocaine than the quantity of powder cocaine necessary to trigger a similar sentence, the 7th Circuit has ruled.
Civil Rights — Eighth Amendment — deliberate indifference
12-1806 Wheeler v. Wexford Health Sources, Inc.
US Supreme Court rules on juvenile life terms, immigration law
In two widely anticipated rulings, the Supreme Court ruled the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment bars juvenile homicide offenders from being sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
U.S. Supreme Court to decide constitutionality of life terms for minors
A year after holding that sentencing a juvenile to life without parole in non-murder cases violates the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether imposing such a sentence on a juvenile for capital murder is unconstitutional.
High court considers ‘Bivens’ claims against private prison
At oral arguments on Tuesday, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed skeptical of a federal prisoner’s claim that he should be allowed to bring a Bivens action against private contractors who run the prison where he was housed.
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- Former law enforcement praise state’s response brief in Steven Avery case
- Eric Toney announces re-election bid for Fond du Lac County District Attorney
- Former Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Peter Barca announces new bid for Congress
- Republicans file lawsuit challenging Evers’s partial vetoes to literacy bill
- More human remains believed those of missing woman wash up on Milwaukee Co. beach
- Vice President Harris returning to Wisconsin for third visit this year
- Wisconsin joins Feds, dozens of states to hold airlines accountable for bad behavior
- Trump ahead of Biden in new Marquette poll
- Bankruptcy court approves Milwaukee Marriott Downtown ‘business as usual’ motion
- New Crime Gun Intelligence Center to launch in Chicago
- Arrest warrant proposed for Minocqua Brewing owner who filed Lawsuit against Town of Minocqua
- Wisconsin Supreme Court justices question how much power Legislature should have
WLJ People
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- Power 30 Personal Injury Attorneys – Jeffrey A. Pitman
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- Power 30 Personal Injury Attorneys – Howard S. Sicula
