Sunday, January 06, 2008

How Unusual?


SCOTUS Blog reported Friday that the Supremes have accepted a noteworthy Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment) case. The question presented in the case, captioned Kennedy v. Louisiana, is "Whether the Eighth Amendment bar on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits capital punishment for the crime of child rape." To see why the case may "put[] the Court's liberals and swing vote Justice Kennedy to the test to see if they actually mean what they say," check out the Crank's great post, Take This Evolving National Consensus and Shove It. See also here.

It's no secret that the Supremes' Eighth Amendment jurisprudence is a car wreck that needs to be scrapped. They might start by taking a look at this interesting article: The Original Meaning of "Unusual": The Eighth Amendment as a Bar to Cruel Innovation.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous1:29 PM

    Aloha, has the court ever heard a case regarding the provision against excessive fines? Punitive fines are all too common, I haven't ever read of them being challanged.

    ReplyDelete

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