First off, it's Veterans' Day. Thanks to all who have served -- including Jamie Markham, who regularly contributes to this blog -- and Godspeed to those who are in harm's way today. In other recent news: 1. Two North Carolina judges have just been nominated to the Fourth Circuit: Jim Wynn, who currently sits on the court of appeals, and Albert Diaz, who is a business court judge in Charlotte. Both, as it happens, have substantial military experience. The News and Observer's story is here. 2. The News and Observer also reported recently on the status of claims made under the Racial Justice Act. The gist of the story is that such claims aren't finding much traction, but you can read all the details here. 3. The United States Supreme Court heard argument this week in the Graham and Sullivan cases, which concern the constitutionality of life without parole sentences for juveniles who commit non-homicide offenses. There has been an enormous amount of media coverage of these cases. A New York Times article is here, and a collection of other pieces is here. The transcripts of the argument are available here: Sullivan, and Graham. 4. John Allen Muhammad, the "DC sniper," was executed this morning in Virginia. Story here. At Sentencing Law and Policy, Doug Berman opines that cases like Muhammad's are why a majority of Americans support the death penalty in at least some cases. A potentially significant procedural aspect of this case is that the state set an execution [...]
Faculty Coordinators
