Walter Williams, R.I.P.

by · Dec 2, 2020 2:56 pm

Walter Williams, Professor of Economics at George Mason University, died today at the age of 84. Donald Boudreaux, also as GMU economics professor, has this article in the WSJ:

For 40 years Walter was the heart and soul of George Mason’s unique Department of Economics. Our department unapologetically resists the trend of teaching economics as if it’s a guide for social engineers. This resistance reflects Walter’s commitment to liberal individualism and his belief that ordinary men and women deserve, as his friend Thomas Sowell puts it, “elbow room for themselves and a refuge from the rampaging presumptions of their ‘betters.’ ”

Professor Williams’s insights were not limited to economics. Although not a lawyer, he gave us the best, most concise description of the “living Constitution” view of constitutional law that I have ever heard.

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Who decides if a teen killer should be tried as an adult?

by · Dec 2, 2020 10:53 am

On Tuesday morning, the California Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of O.G. v. Superior Court (S259011).  The issue is whether the California Legislature unconstitutionally amended the statutory provisions of Proposition 57 when it enacted SB 1391.  Prop. 57 was voted into law by a majority of California voters in 2016.  The ballot measure eliminated a District Attorney’s ability to directly file criminal charges against individuals under age 18 in adult court.  The measure instead gave juvenile court judges the sole authority to decide whether violent juveniles ages 14 and older should be prosecuted as adults only after conducting a full evidentiary hearing in the juvenile court.  In 2018, former Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1391 into law.  SB 1391 prohibits 14 and 15 year olds from being criminally prosecuted as adults regardless of the crime committed.  In a nut shell, voter enacted Prop. 57 gives juvenile court judges the sole authority to decide whether juveniles (ages 14 and older) should be prosecuted as adults and legislature enacted SB 1391 prohibits 14 and 15 years olds from being prosecuted as adults.  SB 1391 (the legislature) takes away what Prop. 57 (the voters) authorized.  CJLF filed a brief (found here) arguing that SB 1391 unconstitutionally amended Prop. 57.

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More Cops, Less Crime, Big Data

by · Dec 1, 2020 4:45 pm

Common sense tells us that more cops on the beat should reduce crime. That was why, at the peak of America’s crime rates, Bill Clinton’s promise to put 100,000 cops on the beat struck a resonant chord with a great many Americans. But while common sense is usually right it is not always, so empirical research is needed.

Charles Lehman reports in the City Journal on research by Sarit Weisburd of Tel Aviv University using GPS data from Dallas police cars. “Weisburd demonstrates that cutting police presence leads to a dramatic increase in crime and offers compelling evidence that this effect is driven by a drop in routine patrols. Cops on the beat drive down crime.” Continue reading . . .

Stimson Testimony on Ohio Juvenile LWOP Bill

by · Dec 1, 2020 11:40 am

Yesterday, Charles Stimson of the Heritage Foundation presented the following testimony to the Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee. The committee is presently considering Senate Bill 256, which would abolish sentences of life without parole for criminals who commit major crimes as little as one day before their 18th birthdays.

Mr. Stimson was motivated to give this testimony because advocates of the bill had “misstated the law in the area” and “provided misleading information.” Continue reading . . .

USDOJ Finalizes Execution Procedure Regulation

by · Nov 25, 2020 9:10 am

The U.S. Department of Justice has finalized its proposed regulation regarding execution methods in federal capital case. The regulations provides the needed flexibility to deal with the quirk in federal law that says that federal executions must be carried out in the manner prescribed by the law of the state where the crime occurred, or if that state has no death penalty then the law of a state designated by the court.

Update (11/27): The final rule is now published at 18 Fed. Reg. 75846. Continue reading . . .

Feinstein Booted for Excessive Civility

by · Nov 24, 2020 3:40 pm

Under pressure, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Cal.) announced today that she will not seek to retain her position as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. That position will be either committee chair or “ranking minority member,” depending on how the Georgia runoffs come out.

Kristina Peterson reports for the WSJ that Sen. Feinstein’s action follows “criticism from the party’s progressive wing over her handling of the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Justice Amy Coney Barrett.” Continue reading . . .

Will Biden Throw in with Defense Bar Extremists or with America?

by · Nov 23, 2020 10:07 pm

There is understandably a good deal of speculation about whether Joe Biden intends to govern from the center-left or the far left.  Biden won the nomination largely as a centrist-sounding counterpoint to the left wing in his Party, represented by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and particularly by Sen. Bernie Sanders.  But his platform on criminal justice is anything but centrist, calling, for example, for elimination of the death penalty (a punishment a clear majority of Americans support) and an end to  — rather than merely a reduction in  —  mandatory minimum sentences, freeing judges to impose little to no punishment regardless of the savagery of the crime.

Which way will Mr. Biden go?

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Crime Epidemic In New York & LA

by · Nov 23, 2020 3:08 pm

Four shooting deaths In Los Angeles over the past weekend marked a milestone in La La land.  As Kevin Rector & Nicole Santa Cruz report in the Los Angeles Times,  for the first time in eleven years there have been 300 murders in the city, and the year is not over yet.  The victims last weekend included a 17-year-old boy, two men aged 50 and 20, and a 41-year-old woman.   A crime analyst from New Orleans told the Times that homicides are spiking in several big cities, which he suggests discounts a local cause for the increase in LA.  He does note that a “loss of police legitimacy” might have had an impact.  Meanwhile in New York City Mayor de Blasio is “real concerned” about the rising crime in the subway, including a surge of commuters being pushed onto the tracks.

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