Federal Judge Enjoins Controversial Parts of AZ Law: The Washington Post reports U.S. District Judge Susan Bolten ruled this morning that several of the most contentious parts of Arizona's new immigration law will not take effect until the courts resolve the issues. Included is the section of the law requiring police to check a person's immigration status while the person is being detained for other reasons. According to Judge Bolton, this requirement "burdens lawfully-present aliens because their liberty will be restricted while their status is checked."
Death Penalty Still On the Table For CT Killer: A Connecticut Superior Court Judge today denied Steven J. Hayes's motions to bar the death penalty from his triple murder trial set to begin in September, as reported by the Middletown Press out of Connecticut. In 2007, Hayes and co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky - both parolees at the time - broke into the home of Dr. William A. Petit, Jr., raped and killed Petit's wife, sexually assaulted one of his daughters, then set the house on fire killing both of his daughters. (See C&C previous post here.) Seeking to avoid a possible death sentence, Hayes's defense team claimed the state legislature's 2009 attempt to abolish the death penalty (see our previous posts here, here, and here) demonstrated that the sentence no longer comported with contemporary standards of decency. The judge rejected the argument, pointing out this same argument has already been rejected by SCOTUS and the Supreme Court of Connecticut.
Bill Narrowing Gap in Cocaine Sentencing Sent for Presidential Approval: The AP reports the House today approved a bill amending a 1986 law outlining mandatory minimum sentences for possession of cocaine. Under the 1986 law, a person convicted of possession of crack cocaine receives the same mandatory minimum as a person convicted of possession of 100 times the same amount of powder cocaine. If signed into law, the bill would reduce this ratio to about 18-1. Notably, the bill also requires stricter penalties for drug violations involving violence.
Death Penalty Still On the Table For CT Killer: A Connecticut Superior Court Judge today denied Steven J. Hayes's motions to bar the death penalty from his triple murder trial set to begin in September, as reported by the Middletown Press out of Connecticut. In 2007, Hayes and co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky - both parolees at the time - broke into the home of Dr. William A. Petit, Jr., raped and killed Petit's wife, sexually assaulted one of his daughters, then set the house on fire killing both of his daughters. (See C&C previous post here.) Seeking to avoid a possible death sentence, Hayes's defense team claimed the state legislature's 2009 attempt to abolish the death penalty (see our previous posts here, here, and here) demonstrated that the sentence no longer comported with contemporary standards of decency. The judge rejected the argument, pointing out this same argument has already been rejected by SCOTUS and the Supreme Court of Connecticut.
Bill Narrowing Gap in Cocaine Sentencing Sent for Presidential Approval: The AP reports the House today approved a bill amending a 1986 law outlining mandatory minimum sentences for possession of cocaine. Under the 1986 law, a person convicted of possession of crack cocaine receives the same mandatory minimum as a person convicted of possession of 100 times the same amount of powder cocaine. If signed into law, the bill would reduce this ratio to about 18-1. Notably, the bill also requires stricter penalties for drug violations involving violence.
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