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Full-Text Articles in Jurisprudence
Temporary Insanity: The Strange Life And Times Of The Perfect Defense, Russell D. Covey
Temporary Insanity: The Strange Life And Times Of The Perfect Defense, Russell D. Covey
Russell D. Covey
The temporary insanity defense has a prominent place in the mythology of criminal law. Because it seems to permit factually guilty defendants to escape both punishment and institutionalization, some imagine it as the “perfect defense.” In fact, the defense has been invoked in a dizzying variety of contexts and, at times, has proven highly successful. Successful or not, the temporary insanity defense has always been accompanied by a storm of controversy, in part because it is often most successful in cases where the defendant’s basic claim is that honor, revenge, or tragic circumstance – not mental illness in its more …
Rules, Standards, Sentencing, And The Nature Of Law, Russell D. Covey
Rules, Standards, Sentencing, And The Nature Of Law, Russell D. Covey
Russell D. Covey
Sentencing law and practice in the United States can be characterized as an argument about rules and standards. Whereas in the decades prior to the 1980s when sentencing was largely a discretionary activity governed only by broad sentencing standards, a sentencing reform movement in the 1980s transformed sentencing practice through the advent of sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimum provisions. As a result, sentencing became far less standard-like and far more rule-like. Although reform proponents believed that this "rulification" of sentencing would reduce unwarranted sentencing disparities and enhance justice, it is far from clear that these goals were achieved. Indeed, the …