The case was decided by the rehnquist court on june 27, 1991. Gay soldier wins battle to reenlist the new york times. Petitioner, harmelin, was convicted under michigan law of possessing more than 650 grams of cocaine. As to conditioning considerations, legislative deliberateness may best distinguish graham from harmelin. The court ruled that the eighth amendments cruel and unusual punishment clause allowed a state to impose a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the possession of 672 grams of cocaine. Petitioner harmelin was convicted under michigan law of possessing more than 650 grams of cocaine and sentenced to a mandatory term of life in prison without possibility of parole. Petitioner was convicted of possessing 672 grams of cocaine and sentenced to a mandatory term of life in prison without possibility of parole. Michigan touches four out of the five great lakes, more than any other state.
Harmelins fingerprints were found on books located inside the satchel and next. Michigan the court held that since the eighth amendment does not contain a proportionality guarantee, the determination of whether a punishment is cruel and unusual is not made with reference to the particular offense. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. Harsh drug sentence becomes model case daily press. Both the state and wilson rely on the same united states supreme court case, harmelin v.
The eighth amendment, which provides that excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted, does not contain a proportionality guarantee. The book discusses racerelated issues specific to africanamerican males and mass incarceration in the united states, but alexander noted that the discrimination faced by africanamerican males is prevalent among other minorities and socioeconomically. Harmelin challenged his sentence as cruel and unusual, claiming it was disproportionate to the crime he committed and was statutorily mandated without consideration for the fact that he had no prior felony convictions. The state court of appeals affirmed, rejecting his argument that the sentence was cruel and unusual within the meaning of the eighth amendment. Because the plurality concludes that petitioners sentence does not violate the eighth amendments prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments, i concur in the judgment. In contrast to the graham courts concerns regarding inadvertence, justice kennedys controlling opinion in harmelin emphasized the high quality of the michigan legislatures work in adopting the 650 lifer law, which mandated lwop for possession of.
This case is here on petition for writ of certiorari to the court of appeals of michigan. Petitioner harmelin was convicted of possessing 672 grams of cocaine and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Michigan 1991 possession of over 650 grams of cocaine, ronald harmelin was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. Following his conviction under michigan law for possession of over 650 grams of cocaine, ronald harmelin was sentenced to life in prison. Eighth amendmentnarrow proportionality requirement preserves deference to legislative judgment harmelin v. The lawbooks of the time are devoid of indication that anyone considered these. Michigan news newspapers books scholar jstor november 2007 learn how and when to remove this template message. Were the court to apply that case law to three strikes, whether it would find any given. The court ruled that the eighth amendments cruel and unusual punishment clause allowed a state to impose a life sentence without the wikimili the free encyclopedia. Michigan is home to the first three tunnels in the world that connect two different countries. Facts of the case following his conviction under michigan law for possession of over 650 grams of cocaine, ronald harmelin was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
Michigan was the first state to guarantee every child the right to taxpaid high school education. None of this information, however, was relevant to a prosecution under the possession statute. The arguments for and against potential reforms report crime and justice february 10, 2014 27 min read download report. Certiorari to the court of appeals of michigan syllabus. In harmelin v michigan, supra, the united states supreme court upheld michigan s mandatory statutory penalty against an eighth amendment challenge. Michigan, an eighth amendment challenge to a michigan statute that gives a life sentence without parole for possession of more than 650 grams of cocaine. Justice scalia announced the judgment of the court and delivered the opinion of the court with respect to part iv, and an opinion with respect to parts i, ii, and iii, in which the chief justice joins. In addition, prior to helm, the court upheld a parolable life sentence in rummel v. These and other facts and reports detailing the pernicious effects of the drug epidemic in this. Responding to what he characterized as justice thomass argument that todays holding is not entirely consistent with the controlling opinions in lockyer v. Michigan june 27, 1991 justice kennedy, with whom justice oconnor and justice souter join, concurring in part and concurring in the judgment. Accordingly, the sentence does not constitute cruel and unusual.
Michigan public school system was racially segregated as a result of. The lower court for this case was the state appellate court. Aug 27, 2012 relying on justice scalias opinion in harmelin v. The state trial court denied relief under michigan court rule 6. I concur in part v of the courts opinion and in the judgment. In this post, i want to explore justice thomass originalist dissent and hisread more. In fact, the entire text of the eighth amendment is taken almost verbatim from the english. Alabama, i discussed the majority opinions use of a common law constitutionalism approach to implementing the cruel and unusual requirement. While there was no majority, a reading of the courts and concurring justices opinions strongly suggests that this. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness is a book by michelle alexander, a civil rights litigator and legal scholar. Supreme court upholds californias harsh threestrikes law.
None of this information, however, was relevant to a. Michigan was the first state to provide in its constitution for the establishment of public libraries. The general ordering of punishments along the continuum of criminal offenses is often consensual. Ap government supreme court cases part 3 4464 flashcards. Westcott ii, which operates out of detroit, is the worlds only floating post office, as it delivers mail to ships as they pass under the ambassador bridge. Michigan, the united states supreme court held that a mandatory sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole for a conviction of possessing more than 650 grams. California sentence of 50 years to life for threestrikes defendant who committed two wobbler offenses was cruel and unusual. Petitioner was convicted of possessing 672 grams of cocaine and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Harmelin challenged his sentence as cruel and unusual, claiming it was disproportionate to the crime he committed and was statutorily mandated without consideration. Petitioners claim that his mandatory sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole for a conviction of possessing over 650 grams of cocaine is. The eighth amendment does not guarantee proportionate.
Defendant, in a high crime area during early morning hours, was admittedly carrying a pistol in an ankle holster, appeared to be extremely nervous, and had a bulge in one of his coat pockets which led the. Under this test, if a threshold inference of gross disproportionality is raisedthe court then determines whether the inference of gross disproportionality is confirmed by a comparison of the defendants sentence to sentences imposed for other crimes within georgia and for. Allen harmelin was pulled over in may 1986 police found 672. Despite these facts, the united states supreme court af. In so doing, a splintered court offered differing approaches to the question whether a proportionality principle is embodied in the protections afforded by the cruel and unusual punishment clause of. The state has conceded that it chose not to prosecute harmelin under the statute prohibiting possession with intent. Introduction ronald harmelin was convicted of possession of 650 or more grams of cocaine and sentenced under michigan law to mandatory life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Michigan, an eighth amendment challenge to a michigan statute. The cruel and unusual punishment clause focuses on unusual methods of punishment, not necessarily cruel ones.
Michigan s major controlled substance offense statute. Clair tunnel, which connects port huron with sarnia, ontario, and the michigan central railway tunnel and detroit windsor tunnel, both of which connect, you guessed it, detroit and windsor, ontario. Michigan june 27, 1991 justice kennedy, with whom justice oconnor and justice souter join, concurring in part and concurring in the judgment i concur in part v of the courts opinion and in the judgment. Michigan, thomas concluded that the cruel and unusual punishments clause does not contain a proportionality principle and therefore does not authorize courts to invalidate any punishment they deem disproportionate to the severity of the crime or to a particular class of offenders. On appeal from an affirmance by the michigan court of appeals, the supreme court granted certiorari. Ray hobbs, director, arkansas department of correction, respondent. Ronald allen harmelin was convicted of cocaine possession and was sentenced to. Four flags have flown over michigan french, english, spanish and united states. Michigan, an eighth amendment challenge to a michigan statute that gives a life sentence without parole for possession of cocaine above 650 grams. The eighth amendment does not guarantee proportionate sentencing. Ap government supreme court cases part 3 4464 study. The united states supreme court, in harmelin v michigan, supra, rejected a challenge, brought under the cruel and unusual punishments clause of the eighth amendment of the united states constitution, to michigan s mandatory penalty of life in prison without possibility of parole for possession of 650 grams or more of a mixture containing cocaine. Both the state and justice kennedy, see ante, at 1008, point to the fact that the amount and purity of the drugs, and harmelin s possession of a beeper, coded phone book, and gun all were noted in the presentence report and provided circumstantial evidence of an intent to distribute. The approach seems constrained on its face, but in fact turns out not to be.
If you would like to participate, please visit the project page. May 26, 2010 for justice stevens too, joined by justices ginsburg and sotomayor, this case broke new ground, but in a positive way. Petitioner claims that his punishment was unconstitutionally cruel and unusual because it was significantly disproportionate to the crime he committed. First, for white, the fact that the framers were not as plainspoken as scalia would have. Introduction inherent in our sense of justice is the idea that in dealing with crime and criminals, the punishment should fit the crime. Apr 10, 2015 the 26th state to be added to the union in 1837, michigan has had a rich history, but there are plenty of facts about michigan, the great lakes state, that you might not know.
This article is within the scope of wikiproject michigan, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the u. Harmelin, convicted as a first offender in 1987 for possessing 672 grams, brought this eighth amendment challenge to the supreme court harmelin v. Aug 31, 2001 both the state and wilson rely on the same united states supreme court case, harmelin v. It then compared the facts in andrades case to those in rummel v. Michigan and the eigth amendment pepperdine digital. Following his conviction under michigan law for possession of over 650 grams of cocaine, ronald harmelin was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
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