These News Briefs and Decision Summaries are from the the New Jersey State Bar Association. They are an exclusive benefit of the Association in partnership with the New Jersey Law Journal. A subscription may be necessary to access the full text of some of the items listed:
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Tensions Run High at Final Hearing Before Manhattan Congestion Pricing Takes Effect
For much of its history, the death penalty in the United States has been framed as a tool of justice—a way to hold the most vicious criminals accountable for their heinous acts. Stories of grisly murders and the suffering of victims’ families dominated the narrative, overshadowing questions about fairness or accuracy in the system. In this view, the focus was on the victims, while defense attorneys challenging death sentences were often portrayed as meddlesome “do-gooders” intent on exploiting legal technicalities to obstruct justice.
Today, the story has shifted dramatically. The modern narrative exposes a system riddled with errors, inequities, and deceptions—a bureaucracy that rushes individuals to death row without ensuring they are the right ones. According to the Death Penalty Information Center’s Death Penalty Census, the reality is stark: the most common outcome of a death sentence in the United States is not execution but reversal. Only 15.7% of death sentences ultimately result in execution, with the vast majority overturned due to errors or other issues.
With such a low “success” rate, one must ask: Why does this archaic punishment persist? Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cornwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College addresses this question in his recent posting, Why Does the United States Bother to Impose Death Sentences?, in VERDICT: Legal Analysis and Commentary from Justia. In his posting, Professor Sarat concludes:
During the week ending January 3, 2025 we have received listings of 10 Government and Administrative Law Summaries, 15 Constitutional Law summaries, 32 Criminal Law Summaries, 2 Intellectual Property Summaries, and 3 Medical Malpractice Summaries. We plan is to continue posting opinion summaries, under corresponding areas of law, weekly whenever possible in order to keep blog readers updated. To gain access to these case summaries, click on the corresponding links below:
Opinion Summaries Posted for Week Ending January 3, 2025:
These News Briefs and Decision Summaries are from the the New Jersey State Bar Association. They are an exclusive benefit of the Association in partnership with the New Jersey Law Journal. A subscription may be necessary to access the full text of some of the items listed:
NEWS BRIEFS:
Lawyers on TikTok Seek the Right Mix of Substance and Levity
These News Briefs and Decision Summaries are from the the New Jersey State Bar Association. They are an exclusive benefit of the Association in partnership with the New Jersey Law Journal. A subscription may be necessary to access the full text of some of the items listed:
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Battles Won, Others Abandoned: 2024 Brought Big Change to the Judiciary
These News Briefs and Decision Summaries are from the the New Jersey State Bar Association. They are an exclusive benefit of the Association in partnership with the New Jersey Law Journal. A subscription may be necessary to access the full text of some of the items listed:
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Will 2025 Bring a Change to Lawyers’ Mandatory Pro Bono Duties Under ‘Madden’?
These News Briefs and Decision Summaries are from the the New Jersey State Bar Association. They are an exclusive benefit of the Association in partnership with the New Jersey Law Journal. A subscription may be necessary to access the full text of some of the items listed:
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A Year of Controversy: NJ Judges Face Disciplinary and Legal Issues With Mixed Results in 2024
During the week ending December 27, 2024 we have received listings of 16 Government and Administrative Law Summaries, 11 Constitutional Law summaries, 34 Criminal Law Summaries, 1 White Collar Summary ,1 Copyright Summary, 2 Intellectual Property Summaries, Internet Law 1 Summary, and 1 Medical Malpractice Summary. We plan is to continue posting opinion summaries, under corresponding areas of law, weekly whenever possible in order to keep blog readers updated. To gain access to these case summaries, click on the corresponding links below:
Opinion Summaries Posted for Week Ending December 27, 2024:
These News Briefs and Decision Summaries are from the the New Jersey State Bar Association. They are an exclusive benefit of the Association in partnership with the New Jersey Law Journal. A subscription may be necessary to access the full text of some of the items listed
NEWS BRIEFS:
The most remarkable aspect of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s fatal shooting on a New York street in early December wasn’t the crime itself—it was the reaction. Social media erupted, not with shock or mourning, but with outrage at the American health insurance system. Stories of family members denied coverage for serious medical issues flooded comment sections, drowning out the horror of the killing. This collective fury was all the more striking in the wake of an election season where the topic had barely registered, save for vague references—think Trump’s “concepts of a plan”—to tweaking Medicare, Medicaid, or Obamacare. Directed anger at insurance companies like UnitedHealthcare had been conspicuously absent.
As historian Elliott Gorn, who has explored the creation of folk heroes might observe, the arrest of Luigi Mangione—indicted on charges including first-degree murder—has transformed an abstract, systemic issue into a potent moral tale. In an instant, jargon about in-network providers and annual deductibles gave way to a stark narrative of heroes and villains. Mangione became either a cold-blooded murderer or a culture warrior; Thompson, a ruthless CEO draining Americans’ wallets or a devoted family man left bleeding on the street. Suddenly, an opaque corporate giant, shielded by labyrinthine policies and faceless bureaucracy, stood exposed—stripped bare in the public eye as a symbol of unchecked greed.
To see Elliott Gorn’s December 18 article in Slate, The Latest Icon: How Luigi Mangione joined the pantheon of American Heroes. which expands on this topic, click here.
Criminal Law Library Blog