Attorneys Push Supreme Court to hear Murder Cases
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Summary:
One attorney and his drive to change the way the Supreme
Court hears cases could change case law forever. |
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The Supreme
Court is considering looking at a judge's discretion to
impose additional time in prison and if it violates a
convict's constitutional rights.
In two major rulings, the court believes that a judge's
authority to impose higher sentencing after trial
violates a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a jury
trial, according to attorneys. One lawyer for a former
police officer (charged with sexually abusing his sone)
told Supreme Court Justices that
the state's sentencing law is just one example. The officer, John
Cunningham, should have been sentenced to a 12 year prison term after a jury
convicted him. However, the trial judge added an additional 4 years
based on facts that were not considered by the jury, according to
Cunningham's lawyer. According to |
one attorney,
California law provides up to three possible sentences and prescribes a
middle option unless the judge finds a reason to increase or reduce prison
time. In Cunningham's case, the judge decided that the child's
vulnerability and the father's abuse of trust justified the longest possible
sentence.
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