University:
Bradley University
Course:
PLW 295 | Introduction to Trial Advocacy
Academic year:

2022
Views:

463

Pages:

8
Author:

Gudrunecg9m

Punishment Chapter 20 Section 4 Bail and Preventative Detention • Bail is a sum of money that the accused may be required to deposit with the court as a guarantee that he or she will appear in court. • The Constitution does not guarantee that all accused persons are entitled to bail, just that the amount of the bail cannot be excessive. • Preventive detention is a law that allows federal judges to order that accused felons be held without bail if there is a danger that the person will commit another crime if released. • Critics think preventive detention amounts to presuming the accused guilty. The Court upheld the law in United States v. Salerno, 1987. Cruel and Unusual Punishment The 8th Amendment also forbids “cruel and unusual punishment.” The Supreme Court extended the provision to the States in Robinson v. California, 1962. • intended to prevent, barbaric tortures such as drawing and quartering and other excessively cruel punishments. • The SC held that defining narcotics addiction as a crime, rather than an illness, was cruel and unusual 1962. In 1976, it ruled that a prison inmate could not be denied medical care. • generally the Court has not found many punishments to be cruel and unusual. Capital Punishment Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is hotly debated under the 8th Amendment. • The SC voided capital punishment laws in the early 70s because it felt that the punishment was applied “capriciously” to only a few convicts, often African American or poor or both. • However, in 1976, the SC held for the first time that a new law which instituted the death penalty was NOT unconstitutional. The new law provided for a two-stage trial process. One trial would determine guilt or innocence, and a second hearing would decide whether the death penalty was warranted. The Court later restricted the use of the death penalty to cases where the victim died. Treason Treason is the only crime defined in the Constitution. Treason is: 1. Levying war against the United States or 2. Giving aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States. • A person can only commit treason in times of war, and it is punishable by the death penalty. • Other related acts, such as sabotage or espionage, can be committed in peacetime. • John Brown, who was hanged as a traitor to Virginia because of his raid on Harper’s Ferry, is the only person ever to be executed for treason against a State.

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