Michigan Supreme Court Grants Leave on Carp and Eliason and J-LWOP
09/11/13 11:26
The Michigan Supreme Court just granted permission to appeal on People v Carp and People v Eliason. These cases deal with the retroactivity of the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Miller v Alabama (Carp); and the appropriate remedy should be for these individuals (Eliason). The Court has also agreed to hear a third case where the question is whether a juvenile convicted of aiding and abetting first degree murder can potentially receive a natural life sentence or whether Graham v Florida bars this. I will post an update to this with links to the various orders in the near future. In the mean time, here is a good link from M-Live.
Court of Appeals Affirms Carp
16/11/12 21:26
Today the Michigan Court of Appeals upheld People v Carp. At issue was was whether the Supreme Court’s ruling in Miller v Alabama was retroactive. If Miller was retroactive, the Court also had to figure out what the appropriate remedy. The Court found that Miller was not fully retroactive and did not apply to cases that were final when Miller was decided. The Court stated that until legislation is passed to fix the Miller problem in Michigan, the remedy was to reduce individual sentences to life with the possibility of parole. The pleadings are available here.
Meanwhile the Legislature has taken action to try and fix things as well. According to this news article, Michigan has proposed a new bipartisan package of bills on JLWOP in response to Miller. News coverage is here: . Here a legislative summary.
Meanwhile the Legislature has taken action to try and fix things as well. According to this news article, Michigan has proposed a new bipartisan package of bills on JLWOP in response to Miller. News coverage is here: . Here a legislative summary.
Pennsylvania Governor Signs Senate Bill into Law
30/10/12 08:26
On Friday, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that individuals have the right to “open carry” a firearm to a public library. The ruling and various reference links are available under my extended analysis which you can see by clicking the “read more” link below. Read More...
Former Prosecutor Supports Relief to JLWOP Defendants
25/10/12 06:30
There was an interesting article by a former appellate prosecutor (now disciplinary counsel) Preston Shipp supporting California’s Senate Bill No. 9 giving relief of former juveniles serving life without a parole (JLWOP) for offenses committed while they were juvenile. Contrary to the rigid beliefs of many prosecutors, Mr. Shipp believes these individuals deserve a second chance.