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Simon to Speak on Punishment for Murder

Post author:Michael M. O'Hear
Post published:January 7, 2011
Post category:Criminal Law & Process Public Speakers at Marquette

I’m looking forward to the upcoming George and Margaret Barrock Lecture on Criminal Law. Berkeley Professor Jonathan Simon will be visiting us on January 24 at 12:30 to speak on punishment for murder. Here is the teaser:

Although the death penalty may be dying out in the United States, the end stage of capital punishment leaves us grasping more than ever for principles that could govern the power to punish those who are convicted of society’s most feared and loathed category of crime. This need is particularly acute in the United States, where the rise of general incapacitation as the dominant purpose of punishment has produced sentences that are far in excess of international and historic American standards. Professor Simon will suggest that these sentences help to anchor an overall structure of imprisonment that appears unjust and unsustainable, argue for a new version of selective incapacitation limited by dignity as the central purpose of imprisonment, and propose a restructuring of the law of murder to effectuate those goals.

More information about Simon’s lecture, including details about how to RSVP, is here.

The IRS’s Hollow Victory in Crane v. Commissioner, 331 U.S. 1 (1947)

Post author:Vada W. Lindsey
Post published:November 1, 2010
Post category:Business Regulation Public U.S. Supreme Court

[Editors’ note: This is the fourth in our series, What Is the Most Important U.S. Supreme Court Case in Your Area of the Law? The first three installments are here, here, and here.]

There are many important Supreme Court tax cases. However, few are identifiable just by reference to a footnote number. Tax scholars and academics will easily recognize the Supreme Court’s decision in Crane v. Commissioner simply by reference to footnote 37. In my opinion, Crane is the most important case in tax history, and footnote 37 is the most famous footnote.

The issues presented in Crane arose when the taxpayer inherited an apartment building from her husband.

Seventh Circuit Narrows Reach of Armed Career Criminal Act

Post author:Michael M. O'Hear
Post published:September 15, 2008
Post category:Criminal Law & Process Federal Criminal Law & Process Public Seventh Circuit

On Friday, in United States v. Smith, the Seventh Circuit held that a conviction in Indiana for criminal recklessness could not be used as a predicate offense for a fifteen-year mandatory minimum sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act. Ordinarily, felons found in possession of a firearm face a maximum sentence of ten years. However, the ACCA raises the minimum to fifteen years for felons who have at least three prior convictions for “a violent felony or a serious drug offense.” The Seventh Circuit’s decision to vacate Smith’s ACCA sentence last week illustrates the importance of Begay v. United States, in which the Supreme Court held that DUI does not count as a “violent felony” for ACCA purposes. Prior to April, when Begay was decided, Seventh Circuit precedent indicated that a felony conviction for criminal recklessness counted; now, in light of Begay, the Seventh Circuit has adopted a new approach.