Nov

18

Iowa Vote Reflects Dissatisfaction With Both Gay Marriage and the Judiciary

Posted by: | November 18, 2010 | 2 Comments

In an earlier post, David Papke called attention to the defeat in a retention election of Iowa Supreme Court justices David Baker, Michael Streit, and Chief Justice Marsha Ternus.  It is clear that the three were removed from the court by the voters because of their support for the view that the Iowa Constitution implicitly [...]

Nov

18

The Hero Teacher in Perspective

Posted by: | November 18, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Prologue: I’d like to thank Dean Bill Henk for inviting me to blog about a terrific project on which we collaborated. On Tuesday, the College of Education, the Office of the Provost’s Social Entrepreneurship Initiative, and the MU Law School sponsored a conference entitled “Urban Education Innovation and Reform Programs: High Success for High-Need Kids.” [...]

Nov

17

Same-Sex Marriage and Judicial Elections

Posted by: | November 17, 2010 | 2 Comments

Largely overlooked in the spate of reports on the recent election was the defeat in a retention election of David Baker, Michael Streit, and Marsha Ternus, three Justices on the Iowa Supreme Court.  They had previously joined the majority in ruling that Iowa’s ban on same sex-marriage violated the state’s equal protection guarantees.  As a [...]

Nov

16

SCOTUS to Address Requirements for Federal Murder Statute

Posted by: | November 16, 2010 | 1 Comment

Yesterday, the Supreme Court agreed to decide what “federal nexus” must be proven in a murder prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 1512(a)(1)(C).  The statute makes it a federal crime to kill “another person, with intent to . . . prevent the communication by any person to a law enforcement officer or judge of the United [...]

Nov

16

SCOTUS Okays Piling on Mandatory Minimums — In the Name of Proportionality?

Posted by: | November 16, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Yesterday, the Supreme Court held in Abbott v. United States that the five-year mandatory minimum prescribed by 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) must be imposed consecutively to other mandatory minimums imposed pursuant to other statutes.  The 924(c) mandatory minimum targets defendants who have used, carried, or possessed a firearm in connection with a crime of violence or [...]

Nov

16

Criminal Court: Guilty by the Preponderance of the Evidence?

Posted by: | November 16, 2010 | 3 Comments

One of our fundamental beliefs is that before a jury may convict a person of a crime, it must be satisfied of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  However, upon even minimal scrutiny, this belief starts to crumble.  For example, Wisconsin criminal jury instruction number 140 concludes with the following two sentences: “While it is your [...]

Nov

15

Reform?

Posted by: | November 15, 2010 | 3 Comments

On November 7, 2010, Senator-elect Ron Johnson was a guest on “Up Front with Mike Gousha.” He made a comment that hit the heart of an issue I have often pondered. This past summer, I had the opportunity to clerk for a law firm that handles primarily medical malpractice actions. So, this conversation sparked my [...]

Nov

12

LA Students Drive Home the Message of Success in Education at Law School Conference

Posted by: | November 12, 2010 | 1 Comment

The speech by Raj Vinnakota and the panel discussion from this conference can be viewed by clicking here. Raj Vinnakota and Rafe Esquith have some real differences in how they approach educating children who come from backgrounds that are connected with low success rates in education. Each has taken decidedly different paths to becoming a [...]

Nov

12

“A Good Start” on Building Joe Zilber’s Neighborhood Improvement Legacy

Posted by: | November 12, 2010 | 1 Comment

“I think Joe’s looking down, saying, ‘Well, it’s a good start.’” That’s how Susan Lloyd, the executive director of the Zilber Family Foundation, described the progress being made in carrying out a $50 million commitment to revitalizing specific Milwaukee neighborhoods made by the late philanthropist, Joseph Zilber. At an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” [...]

Nov

11

The Quiet Comeback of Early Release

Posted by: | November 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Parole seems to be making a comeback.  Although it was a universal feature of the American criminal justice system as recently as forty years ago, parole fell into precipitous decline over the final three decades of the twentieth century.  By 2000, fifteen states and the federal government had abolished parole altogether, while twenty additional states had formally [...]

Nov

10

Life Sentences in Germany

Posted by: | November 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment

The American penal system is plagued by a lack of coherent purposes and clear institutional accountability.  If we were interested in a model for how to do things better, Germany might be a good candidate.  I’m no expert on the German system, but I’ve just read with great interest a new paper on the way [...]

Nov

10

Can You Grow From a “No”?

Posted by: | November 10, 2010 | 2 Comments

On occasion, my brother-in-law and I get to thinking about the same topic.  His venue is a weekly sermon often linked to the Torah portion, while mine is the classroom and the blog.  I had much fun talking with him last week as he wrote his sermon “Can You Grow From a No?”  and I am delighted [...]

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