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SCOTUS action in assortment of interesting criminal justice cases

By Douglas A. Berman

As effectively detailed over at SCOTUSblog, the Supreme Court returned from its month-long break with a bunch of cert grants.  And, as this post details, four of the six grants involve interesting criminal justice issues: Alvarez v. Smith (08-351) ? The legal standard for a court hearing to test the forfeiture of property used in a drug crime...  Padilla v. Kentucky (08-651) ? The duty of an attorney to advise a client facing mandatory deporation from the U.S. after pleading guilty to trafficking in marijuana.... Smith v. Spisak (08-724) ? Judges? duty to advise jurors on whether unanimity is required in finding factors that bear upon imposing a death sentence.  Johnson v. US (08-6925) ? The status of a state conviction for felony battery as a violent crime under the federal Armed Career Criminal Act...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on February 23, 2009 (boomark / email).