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Some notable quotables from the opinion of the Court in Graham

By Douglas A. Berman

Based on my first read of the Supreme Court's Graham opinion, I have a feeling I will be reading the opinion dozens, if not hundreds, of more times; in Graham, there is so much "there there."  Here are just a few of the many lines from just Justice Kennedy's pinion for the Court that jumped out during my first read (with cites left out): [Our] cases underscore the essential principle that, underthe Eighth Amendment, the State must respect the human attributes even of those who have committed serious crimes.... The concept of proportionality is central to the Eighth Amendment.... Actual sentencing practices are an important part of the Court?s inquiry into consen-sus. Here, an examination of actual sentencing practices in jurisdictions where the sentence in question ispermitted by statute discloses a consensus against its use...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on May 17, 2010 (boomark / email).