Gays, St. Patrick's Day and cultural war

Article Abstract:

The disparate conclusions of courts in NYC and Boston on the constitutional protection enjoyed by parade organizers reflect different visions of the constitution itself. The Supreme Court review of the Boston decision will probably find in favor of the First Amendment, and thus of the organizers who sought to bar certain groups from marching under identifiable banners contrary to those organizers' message. The rights to free speech and free association, however, also permit gays to exclude others from their parades.

United States, Interpretation and construction, Boston, Massachusetts, New York, New York, Constitutional law, Constitutional interpretation, Parades, Saint Patrick's Day, Assembly, Right of, Right of assembly

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Death penalty reprieve still hangs up prisoner

Article Abstract:

Virginia Gov George F. Allen's decision to commute the death sentence of Joseph P. Payne in return for his agreement never to try for a new trial was one way to preserve the life of a man who may be innocent while not embarrassing the legal system by proving the erroneous sentencing of an innocent person to death. The US legislature all but abolished habeas corpus with the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, and the Supreme Court erected its own procedural barriers in McCleskey v. Zant.

Virginia, Political activity, Capital punishment, Allen, George F., Post-conviction remedies, Payne, Joseph P.

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Use of informers hurts accuseds' rights

Article Abstract:

There are questions about whether the use of informers who cooperate with attorneys' in return for reduced prison sentences violates a defendant's due process rights and has socially negative results. Some states have tried treating informers' testimony with skepticism and have considered laws on witnesses given partial immunity. The federal courts have at times expressed discomfort with informers' evidence. The US Supreme Court has yet to rule on the issue.

Laws, regulations and rules, Due process of law, Informers, Evidence, Criminal, Criminal evidence, Self-incrimination, Self incrimination

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