Supreme Court Criminal Law Jurisprudence: Fair Trials, Cruel Punishment, and Ethical Lawyering — October 2009 Term
49 Pages Posted: 2 Nov 2013
Date Written: 2011
Abstract
The October 2009 Term of the Supreme Court included important issues regarding the constitutional rights of criminal defendants. In Skilling v. United States, the Court considered a claim by a criminal defendant that the venue of his trial should have been changed because of the extensive publicity surrounding the case. The Court in Padilla v. Kentucky evaluated a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel based on the defense attorney's affirmative misadvice regarding deportation. In Graham v. Florida, the Court considered the issue of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment as applied to a juvenile sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. United States v. Comstock presented the Court with an opportunity to expound on the breadth of the Necessary and Proper Clause regarding a Congressional statute allowing the federal government to civilly commit "sexually dangerous" convicts after their sentences ended. Finally, Holland v. Florida allowed the Court to clarify a circuit split regarding equitable tolling under the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996.
Keywords: Supreme Court, October 2009 term, Criminal Law, Jurisprudence, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, ethical lawyering, Skilling, Padilla, Kentucky, Graham, Florida, breadth, necessary and proper clause, criminal trials, venue, equitable tolling, prospective jurors
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