Does 33 Years on Death Row Constitute Cruel and Unusual Punishment?
Adam Liptak at the New York Times has this fantastic piece on the death penalty and the many years that the convicted wait on death row. Check it out.
1
Nov, 2011
27
Oct, 2011
Whew! Now I Can Quit Law School
Clifford Winston recently published an op-ed at the New York Times entitled, "Are Law Schools and Bar Exams Necessary?" The only words I can really add to it are: Nice work!
25
Oct, 2011
Ineffective Assistance During the Plea Stage
Next week, the Supreme Court will hear argument in two of the most important criminal cases this Term: Missouri v. Frye, No. 10-444 and Lafler v. Cooper, No. 10-209. And both cases involve ineffective assistance of counsel claims. Both cases involve instances where defense attorneys must have been huffing glue. In Frye, the attorney failed to [...]
25
Oct, 2011
One Month Down
I am officially finished with my first month of law school. I must say it was exhausting. But other than that, I have little to complain about. My professors are great (and I’m not just saying that to kiss their you know what!), my classmates are likeable (my small section is completely devoid of gunners), and [...]
19
Oct, 2011
Need Help With Law School Exams? Open Book Is Here To Help
As a general rule, I usually don't advocate on behalf of books I haven't read. But there is an exception. When I have read several of the author's previous works, and I just know his next will be as spectucular as his previous ones. I have read NYU Professor Barry Friedman's books, articles and blog [...]
16
Oct, 2011
Economic Freedom: Like Most Things its on the Decline Here
The Charles Koch Institute created these awesome videos on why some nations are rich and others are poor.
14
Oct, 2011
More on the Strip Search Case
While Sean Bradley and I have been discussing the strip search case on this blog (here and here), others are talking about it at various forums. Adam Liptak at the New York Times and Mike Sacks at the Huffington Post cover the oral arguments. Sacks wrote that: "For the first time this term, Kennedy seemed to be [...]
12
Oct, 2011
Will the Libertarian Justice Kennedy Appear Today at Oral Arguments?
[The Supreme Court will hear argument today in Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of the County of Burlington, No. 10-945.] At 10:00 am Eastern Time, the Supreme Court will hear a case about personal autonomy, personal dignity, and a person's most private details. In prior cases addressing these themes, we've watched Justice Kennedy transform from a Law and [...]
7
Oct, 2011
Do We Finally Have Consensus on the Failings of the Drug War?
It appears that we may have finally reached a consensus on the simple proposition that the War On Drugs is bad policy. Well, kind of. I know what you’re thinking, are there really people out there who believe that the drug war is good policy? Unfortunately, yes, especially if they happen to [...]
5
Oct, 2011
The Passive Voice Debate
I read another article on a subject that seems to create an almost weekly discussion on the legal blogosphere: when and where to use the passive voice, if at all. For law professors' views on the subject read here, here, here and here. My belief seems to track most of those above. Sure, as a general matter, the passive [...]