Law Commons^™

How Far Have Standards Of Decency Evolved In Fifteen Years? An Update On Atkins Jurisprudence In Mississippi, Alexander Kassoff

Mississippi College Law Review

In 2002, the United States Supreme Court handed down Atkins v. Virginia, holding that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the execution of people with intellectual disability. In the years since that ruling, some change has occurred, but questions remain. This article will examine significant developments in Atkins jurisprudence during that time period. It will look at the two post-Atkins United States Supreme Court cases, and the development of the law - in Mississippi especially, but also to some extent in other jurisdictions that still have the death penalty.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. V. Superior Court Of California, San Francisco County: An Exploration Of The "Arises Out Of" Prong In Personal Jurisdiction, Loden Walker

Mississippi College Law Review

The concept of personal jurisdiction in its modern context has existed since the early 1900s. In time, courts have vetted the idea that an individual, company, or legal entity may be brought under the jurisdiction of a state or federal court by reason of its particular contacts with the jurisdiction. In its creation, the Supreme Court of the United States added the requirement that the contact must "arise out of or relate to" the forum state. But dismally, the Court has provided very little on how to apply and operate the "arise out of" prong. As a result, both federal …

The Twenty-First Century Death Penalty And Paths Forward, Jeffrey Omar Usman

Mississippi College Law Review

Today, states are moving closer to another moment of critical decision-making in charting the course of the death penalty in the United States. Unlike the sudden and dramatic immediacy of Furman, however, this moment is arriving through a slower and quieter progression, or perhaps more accurately a deceleration. While not abolished, in many states application of the death penalty is grinding or has ground to a halt. If the status quo holds, the vast majority of defendants who are sentenced to death by the states will instead live out their natural lives in prison for decades dying of old age …

Unraveling A Ball Of Confusion: Layers Of Criminal Intent, Facebook, Rap, And Uncertainty In Elonis V. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2001 (2015), Cameron L. Fields

Mississippi College Law Review

“So, round and around and around we go. Where the world's heading nobody knows...Just a ball of confusion."

Elonis v. United States was a much-awaited case needed to clarify many questions within its realm. Part of the case's allure was its facts: threats, rap, and Facebook. While the alluring circumstances were well-presented, the potential for clarification was not realized. As the quotes from the various opinions above suggest, a song from the oldies had hinted at this ruling correctly when its lyrics said it's "just a ball of confusion." This Note seeks to unravel this ball of confusion to give, …

The Call And The Response: The Call, The 1991 Open Letter From Federal Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., And The 25 Years Of Response From Justice Clarence Thomas, Angela Mae Kupenda

Journal Articles

In 1991, Clarence Thomas was confirmed as the first Black radical conservative Justice, in spite of opposition including credible allegations of sexual harassment lodged against him. His unprecedented confirmation evoked unprecedented reactions, including written ones. One such written action is the basis for this article. Our nation is now fast approaching the anniversary, not only of Thomas’ 25 ceremonial years on the Court, but also of almost 25 years since an unprecedented, published, pointed, open, publicly and widely circulated correspondence was sent to the newly confirmed Justice Thomas by another Black judge. Esteemed Federal Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., penned …