Freddie Lee Hall v. Florida, USSC No. 12-10882, May 27, 2014, reversing Hall v. State, 109 So. 3d 704 (Fla. 2012); Scotusblog page (includes links to briefs and commentary) Because “intellectual disability is a condition, not a number,” and an IQ score is an approximation, not a final and infallible assessment of intellectual functioning, the… Read more
3. Harsh and excessive
State v. Donald W. Maier, 2013AP1391-CR, District 4, 5/8/14 (not recommended for publication); case activity The First Amendment did not preclude prosecuting Maier for stalking based on letters he sent because the letters constituted a “true threat” and thus were not protected speech. In 2006 a jury convicted Maier of threatening a judge. In 2011, after he… Read more
Issues Presented: 1. Has the court of appeals effectively overturned this court’s precedent recognizing undue harshness as a ground for sentence modification? 2. Is the time ripe for this court to put teeth in the McCleary-Gallion mandate that the appellate courts ensure that sentences – particularly sentences in the highest range – are rational and explainable? Court… Read more
State v. Quincy Lashawn Baker, 2013AP242-CR, District 1, 1/28/14; court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); case activity Baker was given a resentencing hearing based on inaccurate information about the maximum periods of confinement and supervision for the crime of conviction (felony murder). (¶¶4-5). At the resentencing hearing before a different judge, the state… Read more
The Sentencing Law and Policy blog (an affiliate of the law professor blogs network) tees up the issue nicely. Their post is pasted in below. When and how will SCOTUS take up Miller retroactivity issues? The question in the title of this post is promoted by this local piece reporting on reactions to the Pennsylvania… Read more
Question presented: Whether the Florida scheme for identifying mentally retarded defendants in capital cases violates Atkins v. Virginia. Lower court opinion: Hall v. State, 109 So.3d 704 (Fla. 2012) Docket Scotusblog page Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002), held that it is unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment to execute a person who is found… Read more
State v. Ali Mursal, 2013 WI App 125; case activity Before accepting a defendant’s guilty or no contest plea the court is required to advise the defendant there may be immigration consequences. Wis. Stat. § 971.08(1)(c). While that statute prescribes a text for the required warning—complete with quotation marks—the court of appeals holds in this… Read more
State v. Jerry Lee Carson, 2012AP2616-CR, District 1, 9/17/13; court of appeals decision (not recommended for publication); case activity Ineffective assistance of trial counsel Carson, convicted of second degree recklessly endangering safety, claimed his trial lawyer was ineffective on various grounds. The court of appeals holds counsel was not ineffective for failing to: Demand a… Read more
