Jamie's post yesterday about the legislature's amendments to the JRA was great, and absolutely essential for criminal lawyers. Shea's recent post on the expansion of continuous alcohol monitoring was equally valuable. But, let's be honest, no one is going to ask you at a cocktail party about changes to the CRV rules for misdemeanants. (Unless you go to a lot of parties with Jamie.) What follows is the cocktail party review of the criminal law legislation enacted during the 2012 legislative session. It isn't everything the legislature did, it isn't detailed, some of it has already been featured on the blog, and by no means is it everything you need to know to practice law, but it will get you through most of the questions your neighbors, college roommates, friends from church, and crazy cousins are likely to ask you about what the General Assembly has been up to. Heck, print it out and put it in your purse or pocket as a cheat sheet! Increased Penalties for Some Second-Degree Murders. Second-degree murder is currently a Class B2 felony. A first offender sentenced as a Class B2 felon in the presumptive range is likely to serve somewhere between 11 and 14 years in prison. Apparently concerned that such a sentence is too lenient, the General Assembly enacted S.L. 2012-165, which increases second-degree murder to a Class B1 felony, resulting in typical sentences about 50% longer than current law. However, the act excepts second-degree murders in which malice is based on recklessness [...]
Faculty Coordinators
