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GRAHAM V. FLORIDA

By "Captain Liberty" and "Rumpole"

Here is the decision in Graham v. Florida, holding that it violates the 8th amendment's prohibition against cruel and inhumane punishment to sentence a juvenile to life in prison for a crime other than murder. Oh my is this opinion a field day for the critics of strict construction and original intent. Justice Kennedy wrote the majority opinion and he opens with a liberal blast of "evolving standards of decency." (How that phrase must have made Scalia's skin crawl!) To determine whether a punishment is cruel and unusual, courts must look beyond historical conceptions to ??the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.?? Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U. S. 97, 102 (1976) (quoting Trop v. Dulles, 356 U. S. 86, 101 (1958) (plurality opinion))...continue to full post

Full post as published by Justice Building Blog on May 17, 2010 (boomark / email).