Posted: June 26th, 2015

Graham v. Florida

Graham v. Florida (2010)

In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Graham v. Florida that sentencing a juvenile to life without the possibility of parole for a non-homicidal crime is in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The ruling requires that states give juveniles a “meaningful opportunity to obtain release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation.”

In the United States, 37 states and the District of Columbia still allow a juvenile to be sentenced to life for committing a non-homicidal crime. A law passed by the Florida Senate in 2014 states that a juvenile convicted of murder may only be sentenced to life in prison after a mandatory hearing at which his or her age and circumstances are considered. The law also provides the opportunity for judicial hearings to review the sentences of offenders serving sentences for juvenile offenses.

Legal Briefs — Each student will present a cogent analysis of four legal cases in modified summary brief format. This is a writing assignment and should be an example of the student’s best writing skills — spelling and grammar count – a lot!!! Please see the example of a legal brief provided in the Required Papers folder on the course homepage and read it and the handout named Legal Brief Notes. I suggest that you use Supreme Court decisions mentioned in your required textbooks because you can then do a subject search for the name of the case and usually find the written opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court using this search method. You may also use any one of the free legal search engines available on the internet or the legal reporters and legal databases available free of charge to you in the library. Please remember to choose your cases early and get them approved. Waiting until the last minute and then not being able to find appropriate cases in time is the number one reason for low or failing grades on this assignment. I encourage you to start early and use the services of the library for assistance if you have not previously had to access legal cases. Completed briefs are to be submitted through the course assignment tool in the folder on the course homepage.

I will attach legal brief example in uploads