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8 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Separation-of-Powers Doctrine
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Power is distributed among 3 branches of govnt:legislative, executive & judicial.
- Doctrine ensures that the same person/group wont make the law, interpret it & apply it. |
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Truth in Sentencing
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Laws require offenders to serve substantial portion of their sentences.
- Under these laws parole eligibility & good-time credits are eliminated or restricted. |
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Presentence Investigation
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Summary into the background & character of a defendant that assists the court in determining the most appropriate sentence.
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Allocution
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Practice is available so that the court can identify the defendant as the person judged guilty & defendant can be given opportunity to plead for mercy or pardon, move for an arrest of judgment or indicate why judgment ought not to be pronounced.
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Weems vs. United States
8th Amend--Death Penalty |
Court struck down a sentence involving a heavy fine--all for offense of making false enteries in official records.
- Supreme found sentence disproportionate to the offense, thus, Weems first case Court invalidated a criminal punishment on 8th amend. grounds. |
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Witherspoon vs. Illinois
8th Amend--Death Penalty |
First indication death penalty might be in trouble.
Illinois court permitted a verdict of guilty & sentenced to death to be handed down by a jury from which the state had systematically excluded all prospective jurors who had any scruples against capital punishment. - Court upheld Witherspoons challenge, ruling that the "death-qualified jury" was indeed unconstitutional. |
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McGauth vs. California
8th Amend--Death Penalty & 14th Amend |
argued that leaving the choice btw life imprisonment or death to the total discretion of a jury was a violation of the due process clause of 14th amendment.
- McGautha seemed to be a fatal blow to the movement dedicated to the abolition of capital punishment & was widely viewed as the Supreme Court’s final word on the death penalty. |
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Furman vs. Georgia
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William Furman received the death sentence for a murder that occured during the course of a burglary attempt.
- Decision whether Furman's sentence should be life or death was left to the jury; his conviction & sentence was affirmed by all Georgia courts. |