Midterm

Question 1

Name the five societal purposes of criminal justice

Answer 1

1. retribution
2. rehabilitation
3. restitution
4. incapacitation
5. deterrence

Question 2

Mandatory 18 U.S.C. § 3553 constiderations

Answer 2

• nature and circumstances of the offense
• defendant’s history
• need for sentence to punish, rehabilitate, provide restitution, incapacitate, or deter
• types of sentence available
• sentencing guidelines
• uniformity

Question 3

What is the rule from State v. Helms?

(toilet water battery of correctional officers by defendant with extensive and serious criminal record)

Answer 3

A judge must consider both the nature and circumstances of the offense and the defendant’s history. However, the defendant’s history alone, when merely paired with “a crime,” is not grounds for imposing an extreme enhancement. The extreme enhancement, even given the defendant’s proven capacity to reoffend, cannot be imposed if it is grossly out of proportion to the crime for which the defendant has been convicted.

Question 4

When may a judge use information in sentencing not proven at trial to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt?

Answer 4

The judge may use information in sentencing not proven in the trial record to decide sentence, so long as the judge remains within the statutory bounds of the crime for which the defendant was actually convicted.

Question 5

What is the rule from Apprendi v. New Jersey

Answer 5

Any facts that increase or decreas the statutory max/min requires a finding of fact beyond reasonable doubt by a jury

Specific to Apprendi, the New Jersey state statute that allowed for a hate crime enhancement to be imposed by sentencing judges based on facts not found proven by a jury is unconstitutional.

Question 6

What is the holding from State v. Donk

(deadly weapon enhancement to assault with deadly weapon conviction)

Answer 6

The deadly weapon enhancement required an additional finding of fact by jury, beyond reasonable doubt, and not a finding of fact by the judge, due to the different statutory definitions of deadly weapon in the assault statute and the enhancement statute.

Question 7

What is the standard of effective counsel at sentencing (Strickland v. Washington)

Answer 7

reasonably effective counsel

Question 8

What is required for a reversal of conviction on the grounds of lack of effective counsel?

Answer 8

1. deficient performance (requires a showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not actually functioning as “counsel” in terms of Sixth Amendment)
2. defencient performance must have had a material impact on the sentence received (but for the counsel’s errors, the sentence would have been different)

Question 9

What is the Cronic exception to the Strickland effective counsel rule?

Answer 9

in extreme cases of total absence of counsel, a showing of prejudice (material impact that deficiency impacted sentence), is not necessary

Question 10

What is the rule from Roper v. Simmons

Answer 10

No death penalty for juveniles under 18.

Question 11

What is the rule from Miller v. Alabama

Answer 11

No LWOP for juveniles under 18.

Question 12

What are the two “strands” of 8th Amendment violations precedents?

Answer 12

1. Categorical bans on sentencing practices based on mismatch between class of offenders and severity of offense, (see Roper, Miller, Kennedy, Atkins, Graham)
2. Mandatory impositions of capital punishment prohibited in certain circumstances

Question 13

What is ruling from Kennedy v. Louisiana?

Answer 13

No death penalty for non-homicide convictions

Question 14

What is the ruling from Atkins v. Virginia

Answer 14

No death penalty for mentally retarded defendants

Question 15

Do categorical bans under the 8th Amendment based on the type of defendant or type of crime exist for non-capitol offenses?

Answer 15

No. For non-capitol offenses, the 8th Amendment only bars specifically “cruel and unusual” modes of punishment, not the application of a particularly harsh, but not cruel and usual punishment, to a relatively minor crime.

Question 15

Does a sentence of LWOP for conviction of possessing 650g of cocaine violate the 8th Amendment (Harmelin)?

Answer 15

No, because the 8th Amendment does not protect against harsh sentences applied to relatively minor crimes

Question 16

What made the residual clause in Johnson v. United States unconstitutionally vague?

Answer 16

The residual clause failed to give notice to the specific conduct it prohibits. This is a violation of due process.

Question 17

What are the two ways a statute can violate the constitution for vagueness?

Answer 17

1. lack of notice: statute fails to clearly describe conduct it punishes
2. lack of standard, allowing for arbitrary application

Question 18

When a defendant pleads guilty, and thereby waives his privilege against compulsory incrimination, does this waiver extend to sentencing?

Answer 18

No. A defendant who has pled guilty may still exercise right to remain silent at sentencing.

Question 19

What are the two ways, according to State v. Wills, a prosecutor violates a sentencing agreement?

Answer 19

1. prosecutor impliedly disavows the agreed to sentencing recommendation
2. prosecutor gives testimony at sentencing fundamentally at odds with sentencing agreement

Question 20

May a court impose the death penalty for non-homocide offenses?

Answer 20

No. Coker v. Georgia; Kennedy v. Louisiana.

Question 21

According to the Coker court, what two characteristics make a punishment unconstitutional under the 8th Amendment

Answer 21

1. punishment does not accomplish any legitimate purpose and is nothing more than needless infliction of suffering
2. punishment is grossly out of proportion to crime

either/or may suffice

Question 22

May a court sentence a defendant convicted of drug possession based on the amount of drugs in his possession, even if the defendant did not know the amount of drugs in his possession?

Answer 22

Yes, strict liability attaches to the amount of drugs in possession of defendant. The mens rea required for possession simply knowingly possessing any amount of drug. The actual amount is relevant for sentencing because it sets the min/max boundaries of appropriate sentencing.

Question 23

When may a judge exercise discretion to disregard defendant’s criminal history in order to decrease sentence?

Answer 23

Only in furtherance of justice, and never due to crowded courts or guilty pleas, or solely because a judge thinks a particular defendant does not deserve an increased term

Question 24

When may federal judges vary (§ 3553) from sentencing ranges?

May judges vary below guidelines on basis of criminal activity?

Answer 24

Only when responding to a sitution not considered by the sentencing commission in crafting the guidelines. The judge, if departing from the guidelines, must explain why. United States v. Croom.

Judges may not vary or deviate below guidlines on basis of criminal history (or lack-thereof), or seriousness of crime, because these two factors were already considered in the creation of the guidelines. “

Federal courts allow a departure for isolated aberrational behavior if spontaneous, unplanned, and truly aberrational under all the circumstances. Examples include behavior motivated by psychological disorder, external pressure, or something other than pecuniary gain, or if the defendant tried to mitigate effects of the crime

Question 25

May convictions on separate counts entered the same day or charged in the same information count as different convictions for the purpose of satisfying requirements for persistent violator status?

Answer 25

Generally, no, convictions entered on the same day or charged in the same information are considered one conviction for the purpose of persistent violator status.

This is because persistent violator status is more concerned with repeat violators after receiving notice of criminal action rather than defendants who have done many bad things.

Question 26

What is the holding of State v. Tiernan

Answer 26

Courts may grant leniency on account of defendant’s taking responsibility for his wrongdoing.

Courts may not penalize a defendant for exercising 5th and 6th amendment rights at trial.

However, a defendant’s continued exercising of 5th and 6th amendment rights at trial may show a judge, after conviction, that defendant does not take responsibility for wrongdoing, and in such cases a judge may decide against any leniency.

Question 27

What is the only reason a court may reduce below a statutory mimimum?

Answer 27

18 U.S.C. §3553(e) allows for reduction below statutory minimum for defendants who have substantially assisted investigators.

Question 28

What is the standard of appellate review for district court sentences

Answer 28

The standard of review of district court sentences is a deferential abuse of discretion standard. Only a sentence imposed by a court found to have abused its discretinon will be reversed

Question 29

Did the Gall court abuse its discretion in sentencing defendant 36 months probation when the minimum sentence per the Guidelines was 30 months imprisonment?

Answer 29

No. Because the Guidelines are merely recommendations, extreme variance from the guideline ranges is not per se abuse of discretion. In Gall, a deferential review of the court’s reasoning behind its sentence was sufficient to show that there had been no abuse of discretion.

Question 30

May a court afford a presumption of reasonableness to the Guidelines?

Answer 30

No. A court should always conduct the Guidelines’ analyses and calculations, but may not treat the Guidelines as per se reasonable.

Question 31

What were the three holdings from Booker

Answer 31

1. enhancements to the sentence that maintain the same statutory range but change the U.S.S.G. recomended range need only be found by a judge by preponderance of the evidence at sentencing.
2. U.S.S.G. are not mandatory.
3. Guidelines appellate review standard is a reasoanbleness standard

Question 32

What does a 5k1 motion do

Answer 32

Requests a departure from the guidelines’ sugessted range on the grounds of defendant’s substantial assistance to investigators.

Question 33

What does a 3553 motion do?

Answer 33

Requests a departure from the statutory range

Question 34

When may a court grant a 3553 motiont to vary below the statutory minimum?

Answer 34

Only on the grounds of defendant’s substantial assistance to law enforcement (3553(e)), not on the basis of age or other 3553(a) factors.

Question 35

What do 18 U.S.C. 3553(e) and U.S.S.G. § 5k.1 say?

Answer 35

Each allow for a reduction under statutory miniumum, or a departure from the guideline range, respectively, on the grounds of defendant’s substantial assistance.

Question 36

If court has granted a reduction below statutory minimum on basis of § 3553(e) motion, may it make further reductions based on § 3553(a) factors?

Answer 36

no