Opinion Summaries: U.S. Supreme Court April 16, 2008
From: Findlaw Opinion Summaries, April 16, 2008.
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, SENTENCING
Kentucky's lethal injection protocol used as its method of execution does not violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishments. (Five concurring opinions and dissent)
CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, SENTENCING
The term "felony drug offense" contained in the Controlled Substances Act's (CSA), 21 U.S.C. section 841(b)(1)(A), provision for a 20-year minimum sentence, is defined exclusively by section 802(44) and does not incorporate section 802(13)'s definition of "felony." Consequently, a state drug offense punishable by more than one year qualifies as a "felony drug offense," even if state law classifies the offense as a misdemeanor.
