In 1991 the Supreme Court of Michigan held a hearing of the People v Smith. The problem with this case was that Ricky Franklin Smith, the defendant, appealed to convince the court that he ought to be re-sentenced due to the consideration of the pre-sentence report of his investigation on his juvenile record that was expunged. “The question presented is whether the inclusion in the presentence investigation report of the expunged juvenile record of defendant Ricky Franklin Smith requires, under MCR 5.913, now MCR 5.925(E), that he be resentenced” (Justia US Law, 2017). In Michigan the Court of Appeals concurred with the defendant and saw a need to re-sentence Smith once more. The Supreme Court, nonetheless, heard the case and turn around the …show more content…
All things considered, those records ought not have been seen by the judge in charge of convicting Mr. Smith. “Smith argued in the Court of Appeals that he was entitled to be resentenced because the presentence investigation report contained references to his juvenile criminal record which had been automatically expunged pursuant to former MCR 5.913” (Justia US Law, 2017). “Nevertheless, arrest data are often used as measurements of juvenile crime because juvenile courts have varying rules of confidentiality regarding juvenile conviction records, which makes such records difficult to examine in many jurisdictions” (Elrod & Ryder, 2014). The Court of Appeals agreed with Smith mainly fixed on the People v Price, the court case from 1988. The case confirmed that a juvenile record that was expunged can not be acknowledged during a sentencing hearing. The State contended, despite the People v Jones in 1988, that if incorporated into the pre-sentencing investigation detail report that the record could be taken into account at the hearing. “Defendant claims on appeal, as in his post-sentence motion, that resentencing is required because his juvenile record was erroneously included in the presentence information report and considered by the sentencing judge” (Leagle, 2017). With these two contradicting choices, and the Court of Appeals decided that Price case was a more excellent way to …show more content…
After some time, most courts have taken the stance that the juvenile record of an individual can be thought about by a judge while considering a proper punishment for a now adult offender. “When, however, a juvenile offender appears in court again as an adult, his juvenile offense record may be considered in imposing sentence” (Elrod & Ryder,
Name and Citation: UNITED STATES v. LETTERLOUGH 63 F.3d 332 (1995) Facts: An acquaintance of the defendant, Vincent Jay Letterlough, purchased a firearm without knowledge that Letterlough was a convicted felon. Upon learning that Letterlough was a felon, she turned herself into the police. Following her confession, Letterlough was charged with felony possession of a firearm in which he pled guilty. Because of a number of drug convictions, the Probation Officer during sentencing recommended considering Letterlough an Armed Career Criminal under the ACCA’s statutory sentencing enhancement.
In reviewing People v Price, 172 Mich App386, 300-400; 431 NW2d829 (1988), the court found that the panel ruled that the juvenile record was automatically expunged and therefore could not be considered for the purpose of sentencing (justlaw). Conversely, the court found in People v Jones, 173 Mich App 341, 343; 433 NW2d 829 (1988), a second panel concluded that the expunged criminal history of juveniles was admissible in the presentence report as well as the consideration during
Ricky Franklin Smith was convicted based on his guilty plea of breaking and entering and his fourth offense of being a habitual offender. During his sentencing hearing, the court referred to his juvenile court records and enhanced his final sentence. Smith appealed his sentencing in the Court of Appeals arguing that he was entitled to resentencing because his juvenile criminal records had been automatically expunged pursuant to former MCR 5.913 (People v. Smith, 2017). The Court of Appeals reviewed People v. Price which had ruled that a juvenile record automatically expunged pursuant to MCR 5.913 could not be used during the presentence investigation. They also reviewed People v. Jones where the panel concluded that an expunged juvenile
A decision held that under the Sixth Amendment, the defendant’s counsel had not met the standards of reasonable competence required of a defense. Even if a defendant and their family suggested that no mitigating evidence was available, it is required to use reasonable effort in obtaining and reviewing materials that the counsel expects prosecution to use as evidence during sentencing. The reasoning behind this decision argued that Rompella’s trial counsel did not make sensible efforts to examine the files on Rompilla’s prior convictions for rape and assault. The Court stated that the counsel should have known prosecution would present those files to the jury during sentencing, and that the information on Rompilla’s prior conviction would have found mitigating evidence about his mental health, childhood, and alcoholism that could have been used for a proper
The defendant was considered a habitual offender; fourth offense. He appealed his rights and was awarded a resentence; Docket No. 87874 People v. Smith, 470 NW2d 70, Michigan Supreme Court (1991). Smith case was referenced to People v. Price
In the case of the People versus Smith, it struggles with conflicts and balances. The verdict was decided by the Supreme Court of Michigan in 1991. The issue at hand was that the defendant, Ricky Franklin Smith, argued that he should be re-sentenced because of the action of the presentence investigation report of his previously expunged juvenile record. The Court of Appeals in Michigan agreed with the defendant and required that Smith is sentenced again. However, The Supreme Court heard the case and reverses the decision stating that Smith did not need to be sentenced again on the basis of the inclusion of his juvenile record alone.
In Miller vs. Alabama, the question of whether or not a life without parole sentence for minors violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments was raised and discussed (1). In July of 2003, Evan Miller, along with an accomplice named Colby Smith, severely beat Cole Cannon with a baseball bat and burned down his trailer while he was inside (1). Miller was only fourteen year olds at the time of the crime (1). In 2004, Miller was transferred from Lawrence County’s juvenile court to Lawrence County’s Circuit Court to be tried as an adult (1). He was going to be tried for capital murder during the course of an arson (1).
The basic facts on the case of Coy v. Iowa (1988) are that: The defendant John Avery Coy was arrested in August of 1985, on charges of sexually assaulting two thirteen-year-old-girls (Coy v. Iowa, 1988). The state prosecutor made a motion, at the trail of Coy, to allow the two girls to testify behind a screen or by using a closed-circuit television, to avoid further traumatizing the thirteen-year-olds (Coy v. Iowa, 1988). Before this case, “ The Iowa legislature’s purpose was to assure the fair and compassionate treatment of victims and to protect them from intimidation and future injury. Iowa stature allowed for a child to testify via closed-circuit television or by videotape” (Thuet, 1994, p.11). Therefore, because of Iowa’s statutory procedure,
In 1991, an African American man named Anthony Wright confessed to the rape, robbery, and brutal murder of a 77-year-old woman. However, he later retracted his confession, asserting that it had been coerced by police, and requested DNA testing on the evidence prove his innocence. Despite his ardent attempts to reclaim his innocence, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania rejected the request based on the simple fact that he had previously confessed to the crime, which therefore prevented him from being able to claim his innocence (Commonwealth v. Wright, 2007). On behalf of Wright’s case, in 2008 the American Psychological Association filed an amicus curiae brief that described the many possible causes of false confessions and their role in wrongful convictions. In 2011, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania recognized that, although a confession may be admitted during trial, it does not necessarily mean that the confession was true.
As one might imagine, the news of the lack of jail time for a child predator did not sit well with many people in Oklahoma. What could have been a quiet deal that became buried in the court system turned into a nightmare for everyone involved. Pyle first drew attention to the fact the Petty has a disability that kept out of jail. As the press hounded him for an explanation, he made it seem like the plea deal was also done to help both the victim and her
In 1967, the Supreme Court’s decision in In re Gault validated that juveniles fall under the United States Constitution, and therefore have a right to a competency test (Romaine, Kemp, & DeMatteo, 2010). It is in applying the Dusky Standard to juvenile cases that the statute becomes unclear – it is much more uncertain whether Dusky applies equally to juvenile court, and if Dusky standards should be different for juvenile defendants in criminal court (Sanborn, 2009). Twenty states consistently process defendants in juvenile court without a clear standard for CST, while eighteen have implemented detailed standards on CST in juvenile court (Sanborn,
This is due to the state law providing for the sealing of juvenile records when a person has reached 20 years of age (Miss. Code, 1972). Although the records are supposed to be sealed, state law does apply for 20 exceptions to this requirement, including the records being used by the judges of the circuit courts. The circuit court judges may request a presentence investigation on any person who is convicted of a felony. This investigation is to include a complete criminal history of the offender, to include juvenile adjudications, and is to be used by the judge to determine an appropriate sentence (Miss. Code,
Annotated bibliography Childress, S. (2016, June 2). More States Consider Raising the Age for Juvenile Crime. Retrieved from PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/more-states-consider-raising-the-age-for-juvenile-crime/ More states are considering to raising the age for juvenile crimes before being tried as adult because young offender's mental capacity. The idea is to cut the cost of incarcerate young offender in adult prison and ensure offenders to receive proper education and specialized care to change their behavior. Putting children in adult prison does not deter crime.
The juvenile justice system has made numerous of ethical issues when managing juvenile offenders. The issue with the juvenile justice system is the laws and rules that govern it. It has led to years of controversial debate over the ethical dilemmas of the juvenile corrections system, and how they work with youth offenders. The number of minors entering the juvenile justice system is increasing every month. The reasons why the juvenile justice system faces ethical dilemmas is important and needs to be addressed: (1) a vast proportion of juveniles are being tried and prosecuted as adults; (2) the psychological maturation of the juvenile to fully comprehend the justice system; and (3) the factors that contribute to minorities being adjudicated in the juvenile justice system are more likely than White offenders.
Can you imagine waking up behind closed walls and bars? Waking up to see your inmate who is a 45-year-old bank robber and you are a 14-year-old minor who made a big mistake. This is why minors who have committed crimes should not be treated the same as adults. Some reasons are because the consequences given to minors in adult court would impact a minor’s life in a negative way. If a minor is tried through a juvenile court, they have a greater chance of rehabilitation.