ipl-logo

The Case Of Booth Vs. The State Of Maryland

500 Words2 Pages

In the case of Booth versus the state of Maryland, John Booth was convicted of murdering an elderly couple. In 1983 Booth and an accomplice brutally murdered an elderly couple, Ira and Rose Bronstein, in their home. Booth was subsequently apprehended, charged, and convicted by a jury of two counts of first degree murder. The State requested the death penalty. He chose to have the jury determine his sentence instead of the judge. According to the Maryland's law, it requires a victim impact statement describing the effect of the crime on the victim and his family to be included in the pre-sentence report in capital cases. In this case, the victim impact statement described the victims, the impact of the crime on their family, and the family members' …show more content…

He also acknowledged that by allowing the content of a victim impact statement to influence the jury could lead them to choose the death penalty for reasons which were irrelevant to the defendant's decision to kill. This diverted attention from the facts of the crime. Justice Powell determined that by introducing the emotionally-charged opinions of family members into the case would destroy the reasoned decision-making. This is critical in capital cases. The major factor, in this case, argued if the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution protected a defendant from cruel and unusual punishment. This amendment prohibited a jury from considering a victim impact statement during the sentencing phase of a capital murder trial. The Supreme Court questioned whether the consideration of victim impact evidence in a capital sentencing case was legal. Booth contended that by considering this type of documentation would lead to arbitrary or capricious sentencing. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that it was unconstitutional to utilize victim impact statements in a capital sentencing

Show More
Related
643 Words | 3 Pages

McCulloch vs Maryland Summary In case of McCulloch vs Maryland is a landmark case that questioned the extent of federal government 's separation of power from state government. A problem arose when the Second Bank of America was established. With the War of 1812 and it’s financial suffering in the past, the government sought to create a bank with the purpose of securing the ability to fund future wars and financial endeavors. Many states were disappointed with this new organization, one of them being Maryland.

Read More
491 Words | 2 Pages

Worcester v. Georgia By Sydney Stephenson Worcester v. Georgia is a case that impacted tribal sovereignty in the United States and the amount of power the state had over native American territories. Samuel Worcester was a minister affiliated with the ABCFM (American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions). In 1827 the board sent Worcester to join its Cherokee mission in Georgia. Upon his arrival, Worcester began working with Elias Boudinot, the editor of the Cherokee Phoenix (the first Native American newspaper in the United States) to translate religious text into the Cherokee language. Over time Worcester became a close friend of the Cherokee leaders and advised them about their political and legal rights under the Constitution and federal-Cherokee treaties.

Read More
794 Words | 4 Pages

Recently, state-issued photo ID has been required in order vote since the law passed in the Texas legislature. This law has caused controversy as it brings up the question over the state’s power in the regulation of elections. “While pending review within the judicial system, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Shelby County v. Holder, which effectively ended all pending litigation. As a result, voters are now required to present an approved form of photo identification in order to vote in all Texas Elections” (votetexas.gov). The U.S. Supreme Court struck down on Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the Shelby County v. Holder case.

Read More
536 Words | 3 Pages

According to the Tenth Amendment of the constitution, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”. There have been moments in history where Congress has implemented laws that states felt were unconstitutional. The Constitution gave states the ability to counter the federal government’s power through the Judiciary branch of government, when they feel a law is unconstitutional. The Founders of our nation gave Congress enumerated powers to pass legislation that needs to be abided by all states and citizens. At times Congress will overstep its powers by enacting laws that are unconstitutional and the states have the right to challenge those powers.

Read More
954 Words | 4 Pages

State of Georgia V. Marcus Dwayne Dixon (2003) Marcus Dixon was a highly recruited high school football player. His life suddenly took a tragic turn when he was falsely convicted of raping a 15 year old girl. The elements around his false conviction could have been avoided with some reform to the criminal justice courts system. Dixon initially had many charges against him but were narrowed down to statutory rape and aggravated child molestation. There was much racial disparity surrounding the jury on Dixon’s case, in that the county that Dixon committed his “crime” was a predominantly white population.

Read More
950 Words | 4 Pages

In South Carolina v. Gathers (1989), the court had to decide whether a victim impact statement could be introduced if it related to the crime. Believing so, the prosecutor rather than the victim’s family presented to the jury personal attributes concerning the victim and how the family felt the crime and the defendant. The prosecutor also read from a religious tract that was in the victim’s possession. The major difference in Gathers and Booth is the manner in which the information was presented.

Read More
754 Words | 4 Pages

The shaping of the American economy was deeply affected by the governmental structure and the policies made by the various levels of the US governments in the early economic development. Following the Independence War in 1776, the nation’s economic development was implemented mainly by the state governments because the Articles of Confederations limited the power of the federal government to the defense and international affairs while gave all the other powers to the individual states. [1] With the weak central government, the economic development was hampered and confined to the agricultural sector. However, the new constitution crafted in 1787 formed a more powerful federal government, granting the federal government the sole power to regulate

Read More
299 Words | 2 Pages

In the case of the United States v. John Bass, the defendant John Bass was charged with the international killings with a firearm of two individuals. The defendant John Bass alleged that the government was seeking the death penalty against him because of his race. Mr. Bass brought forth evidence from a national statistic showing that African Americans were charged with a death eligible offenses more than twice as often as whites. Due to this evidence the Sixth Circuit Court granted Mr. Bass a motion for discovery regarding the government 's capital charging practices. However, the Supreme Court reversed the Sixth Circuit Courts decision to grant the defendant John Bass a discovery motion based on selective prosecution.

Read More
485 Words | 2 Pages

Mr. Bryant at his appeal hearing said that the statement made by the victim who subsequently died due to being shot and his statement being able to be read in court violated his sixth amendment right to confront his accuser. In the statement the Victim stated that Mr. Bryant had shot him, however, the man died shortly after his admission of what happened to him. ("Michigan V. Bryant | Oyez", 2011).

Read More
591 Words | 3 Pages

Ironically that's all they argued, they didn’t bother to use the 8th amendment as a defense. The benefits of being able to nullify a verdict as a jury is being able to provide a different socio-economic perspective. A judge works with crime everyday, most likely not living in the ghetto where some jurors may live. Juror’s with different perspectives of a crime can cause more linancy and sympathy towards a defendant.

Read More
226 Words | 1 Pages

We see multiple successes of voting equality attempted through amendments, however, the Supreme Court’s decision on Shelby County v. Holder has pushed back years and years of effort for voting rights. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling was in Shelby County’s favor, stating that the Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional along with Section 5. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr, who wrote the majority’s opinion, said that the power to regulate election was reserved to the states, not the federal government. As a result to the court’s decision, the federal government can no longer determine which voting law discriminates and can be passed. After the case, many states had freely passed new voting laws; the most common voting law states passed

Read More
390 Words | 2 Pages

The duty of any criminal prosecutor is to seek justice. A conviction is the end of justice being served prior to sentencing; however justice cannot be served if an innocent person is found guilty. Even though the prosecutor(s) are there to represent the public and has the duty to aggressively pursue offenders for violations of state and federal laws, they shall never lose sight or their own moral compass of their main purpose is to find the truth. In the pursuit of truth, the United States Supreme Court has developed or made rulings in reference to several principles of conduct which have to be followed by all prosecutors to assure that the accused person(s) are allowed the proper procedures and due process of the law granted by the 14th Amendment.

Read More
616 Words | 3 Pages

Slide 2: Introduction of Victim Impact statement policy: Victim impact statements involves the victim expressing to the court how the crime affected them. The victim impact statement is a written statement which is verbally communicated in the court room. It is optional the victim is not under any obligation to produce a Victim impact statement. Primary victims are not the only ones who can provide statements, friends or family can act on behalf of them. Victim Impact Statements involve explaining how the crime physically impacted on the victim, any injuries that have come from the crime, long term and short term injuries.

Read More
490 Words | 2 Pages

On appeal, the Maryland Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's decision, finding that the victim impact statement serves an important interest by informing the sentence of the full measure of harm caused by the crime. Booth again appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court where the lower court's sentencing, but not the conviction, was vacated and remanded back for further proceedings. In presenting arguments before the Supreme Court, the chief attorney for Booth argued that when making a decision about the death penalty, juries should only consider two criteria: the defendant's background and the circumstances of the

Read More
486 Words | 2 Pages

The court had a horrible way of deciding who was guilty or innocent and this killed

Read More

More about The Case Of Booth Vs. The State Of Maryland

Related Topics

Open Document