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Criminal Law

Journal

Golden Gate University School of Law

Habeas corpus

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Law

Criminal Procedure - Macfarlane V. Walter, Jennifer Benesis Sep 2010

Criminal Procedure - Macfarlane V. Walter, Jennifer Benesis

Golden Gate University Law Review

In Macfarlane v. Walter, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that Washington state and county early-release credit systems for prisoners violate the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution. The early-release credit systems unconstitutionally provide fewer early-release credits to pre-trial detainees who cannot afford to post bail than to similarly-situated prisoners who post bail and serve their entire sentences after trial in state prison. The court held that awarding fewer good behavior credits for time served in county jail than for time served in state prison denies equal protection of the law to pre-trial …


Mckenzie V. Day: Is Twenty Years On Death Row Cruel And Unusual Punishment?, Amber A. Bell Sep 2010

Mckenzie V. Day: Is Twenty Years On Death Row Cruel And Unusual Punishment?, Amber A. Bell

Golden Gate University Law Review

In 1976, the United States Supreme Court decided that capital punishment does not violate the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment. This note raises the question whether extended incarceration on death row invokes the protections of the Eighth Amendment. This note examines four aspects of this issue. First, it traces the facts and procedural history of McKenzie. Second, the history of cruel and unusual punishment jurisprudence is discussed. Third, it details and analyzes the majority and dissenting opinions. Finally, it demonstrates that McKenzie is a poorly reasoned opinion.


Criminal Procedure - The Robert Alton Harris Decision: Federalism, Comity, And Judicial Civil Disobedience, Deirdre J. Cox Sep 2010

Criminal Procedure - The Robert Alton Harris Decision: Federalism, Comity, And Judicial Civil Disobedience, Deirdre J. Cox

Golden Gate University Law Review

This article touches on only three of the many issues raised by the Harris case. First, it explores the appropriateness of Harris' section 1983 class action filed on behalf of all California death row inmates. Specifically, Harris argued that death by lethal gas constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court characterized the section 1983 action as an attempt to avoid the application of McCleskey v. Zant, which bars successive claims for relief. By way of an extensive historical analysis of each, this article examines the respective roles of …


Criminal Procedure - Spain V. Rushen: Shackles Or Show Time? A Defendant's Right To See And Be Seen, Randall E. Tuskowski Sep 2010

Criminal Procedure - Spain V. Rushen: Shackles Or Show Time? A Defendant's Right To See And Be Seen, Randall E. Tuskowski

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.