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Proportionality In The Criminal Law: The Differing American Versus Canadian Approaches To Punishment, Roozbeh (Rudy) B. Baker Jan 2008

Proportionality In The Criminal Law: The Differing American Versus Canadian Approaches To Punishment, Roozbeh (Rudy) B. Baker

Roozbeh (Rudy) B. Baker

The focus of this Article shall be upon the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution and s. 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, both of which prohibit “cruel and unusual punishment”; and their effect on mandatory criminal sentencing (via penal statute) in the two countries. The Article shall begin by briefly explain the differences between the jurisdictional application of criminal justice in the United States and Canada. The Article will next present and explain the American Eighth Amendment approach to the constitutionality of mandatory criminal sentencing and contrast this to the Canadian s. 12 approach to …


California Youth And Criminal Law: 2007 Juvenile Justice Reform And Gang Prevention Initiatives, Sandhya Ramadas Jan 2008

California Youth And Criminal Law: 2007 Juvenile Justice Reform And Gang Prevention Initiatives, Sandhya Ramadas

Sandhya Ramadas

Debate shaping criminal law and policy inevitably involves the intersection, and sometimes conflict, of “tough on crime” policies, victims’ rights, rehabilitation, incarceration, and of course, the securing of funding. Nowhere was this more apparent than in 2007 reforms surrounding the treatment of California’s youth. While legislators and policy groups pushed through Senate Bill 81 – the State Senate bill which ushered in a host of juvenile justice realignment provisions and shifted the focus of juvenile programs from the state to localities – they also provided increased funding for gang-related investigations, convictions, and for tracking programs through several bills and the …