Business Leaders Take On Prison Reform: On Sentencing Law and Policy, Doug Berman posts an editorial from the Detroit Free Press describing the Detroit Regional Chamber's plan to reduce corrections costs as part of an overall effort to restructure state government. The Chamber wants to reduce Michigan's prison spending by $500 million and has made seven recommendations for cutting costs. First, the Chamber would like to make the parole board a body of professional civil servants replacing the current board of political appointees, charged with enacting and enforcing parole guidelines which are score all inmates for parole and respect the proper role of the sentencing judge. The Chamber also proposes re-creating a "good time" system that replaces disciplinary credits with credits for accomplishments that increase the likelihood of success upon release, and opening up food service to competition by allowing competitive bidding from the private sector.
No Hearing Day Set for Ninth Circuit Nominee: At Blog of Legal Times, David Ingram reports that the debate is heating up over Ninth Circuit nominee Goodwin Liu, and that a hearing date for Liu has not been announced, even though a hearing date has been set for Judge Robert Chatigny, nominated on the same day as Liu. Ingram's post describes the efforts of Liu's critics and supporters, including the efforts of one of Liu's law students to gather material in support of Liu's nomination. Ingram writes that the debate could heat up further now that Liu's answers to a Senate questionnaire have been published.
Should President Obama Consider a Protestant? Today, Washington Post staff writer Robert Barnes wonders whether President Obama's next Supreme Court nominee needs to be a Protestant. Barnes reports that if Justice Stevens does retire at the end of this term, the Supreme Court would for the first time in its history be without a justice belonging to America's largest religious affiliations. Catholics have held a majority on the nine-member court since 2006 and the confirmation of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Justice Sonia Sotomayor made it six last summer. Justices Breyer and Ginsburg are Jewish. While religion may not play a role in the President's decision, one former Justice has express her views on the issue. Last fall, when Justice O'Connor was asked about the need for geographic diversity on the court she stated, "I don't think they should all be of one faith, and I don't think they should all be from one state."
Neuroimaging and Competency to be Executed: CrimProf Blog editor Kevin Cole posts a link and the abstract to New York Law Professor, Michael L. Perlin's new SSRN article Neuroimaging and Competency to Be Executed after Panetti. In the abstract, Perlin writes that scholars are questioning the impact of neuroimaging evidence on capital punishment trials, wondering whether reliance on such testimony can actually make "sentencing more rational and humane." He writes that after Panetti v. Quarterman recognized a constitutional right to make a showing that a defendant's mental illness "obstruct[ed] a rational understanding of the State's reason for his execution," competency-to-be-executed hearings may have to become more sophisticated. Perlin then explores what impact neuroimaging testimony will have on future Panetti hearings.
No Hearing Day Set for Ninth Circuit Nominee: At Blog of Legal Times, David Ingram reports that the debate is heating up over Ninth Circuit nominee Goodwin Liu, and that a hearing date for Liu has not been announced, even though a hearing date has been set for Judge Robert Chatigny, nominated on the same day as Liu. Ingram's post describes the efforts of Liu's critics and supporters, including the efforts of one of Liu's law students to gather material in support of Liu's nomination. Ingram writes that the debate could heat up further now that Liu's answers to a Senate questionnaire have been published.
Should President Obama Consider a Protestant? Today, Washington Post staff writer Robert Barnes wonders whether President Obama's next Supreme Court nominee needs to be a Protestant. Barnes reports that if Justice Stevens does retire at the end of this term, the Supreme Court would for the first time in its history be without a justice belonging to America's largest religious affiliations. Catholics have held a majority on the nine-member court since 2006 and the confirmation of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Justice Sonia Sotomayor made it six last summer. Justices Breyer and Ginsburg are Jewish. While religion may not play a role in the President's decision, one former Justice has express her views on the issue. Last fall, when Justice O'Connor was asked about the need for geographic diversity on the court she stated, "I don't think they should all be of one faith, and I don't think they should all be from one state."
Neuroimaging and Competency to be Executed: CrimProf Blog editor Kevin Cole posts a link and the abstract to New York Law Professor, Michael L. Perlin's new SSRN article Neuroimaging and Competency to Be Executed after Panetti. In the abstract, Perlin writes that scholars are questioning the impact of neuroimaging evidence on capital punishment trials, wondering whether reliance on such testimony can actually make "sentencing more rational and humane." He writes that after Panetti v. Quarterman recognized a constitutional right to make a showing that a defendant's mental illness "obstruct[ed] a rational understanding of the State's reason for his execution," competency-to-be-executed hearings may have to become more sophisticated. Perlin then explores what impact neuroimaging testimony will have on future Panetti hearings.
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