Modeling the Impact of Supreme Court Decisions: Wygant v. Board

1988 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-149
Author(s):  
Nelson C. Dometrius ◽  
Lee Sigelman
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Supreme Court Decisions ◽  
The Impact

Alleyne on the Ground

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 287-297
Author(s):  
Nancy J. King ◽  
Brynn E. Applebaum
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New Jersey ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Criminal Justice Systems ◽  
Supreme Court Decisions ◽  
Fact Finding ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

This article addresses the impact of Alleyne v. United States on statutes that restrict an offender’s eligibility for release on parole or probation. Alleyne is the latest of several Supreme Court decisions applying the rule announced in the Court’s 2000 ruling, Apprendi v. New Jersey. To apply Alleyne, courts must for the first time determine what constitutes a minimum sentence and when that minimum is mandatory. These questions have proven particularly challenging in states that authorize indeterminate sentences, when statutes that delay the timing of eligibility for release are keyed to judicial findings at sentencing. The same questions also arise, in both determinate and indeterminate sentencing jurisdictions, under statutes that limit the option of imposing either probation or a suspended sentence upon judicial fact finding. In this Article, we argue that Alleyne invalidates such statutes. We provide analyses that litigants and judges might find useful as these Alleyne challenges make their way through the courts, and offer a menu of options for state lawmakers who would prefer to amend their sentencing law proactively in order to minimize disruption of their criminal justice systems.

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