On Display at Clarkston: December 2018

Where it All Starts

United States Supreme Court Supreme Court of the United States
United States Supreme Court
A treasure trove of primary source materials including not only a calendar; list of cases "Granted and Noted" (which means accepted and scheduled for argument. All cases featured in this display are Granted and Noted); copies of briefs, decisions, and other legal materials; and transcripts of speeches by judges given around the country and world.
Eileen H. Kramer

Learn more with Library Databases

Nexis Uni
Nexis Uni
Your go-to database for legal cases, state and national statutes, law review articles, and paywalled newspapers such as: The New York Times, Washington Post, and Boston Globe.
Eileen H. Kramer

Sage Journals
Publisher web sites, such as Sage, conveniently restrict material to scholarly journals and focus more tightly on a constellation of subject areas surrounding crime, justice, legal rights, and public policy. Note: most but not all offerings are full text.
Eileen H. Kramer

Taylor & Francis Online
Informa UK
This publisher site boasts over 41,000 articles in a variety of journals. These feature social sciences, crime and punishment, some economics, and public policy, all useful for background on Supreme Court cases. Note: as with Sage, not everything at this publisher is full text.
Eileen H. Kramer

Learn more with Legal Blogs

Attorneys and law professors often offer learned commentary and links to primary source (Briefs and case argument) material dealing with both federal and state cases that reach the appellate level. This includes the Supreme Court. In addition, ScotusBlog offers a weekly podcast, First Monday, detailing the Supreme Court's schedule for the week.

SCOTUSblog
Goldstein, Tom and Amy Howe
http://www.scotusblog.com
SCOTUSblog is devoted to covering the U.S. Supreme Court comprehensively, without bias and according to the highest journalistic and legal ethical standards. The blog is provided as a public service.... The blog generally reports on every merits case before the court at least three times: before argument, after argument and after the decision. The blog notes all of the non-pauper cert petitions that raise a legal question which in our view may interest the justices; we give additional coverage to particularly significant petitions. For the merits cases and the petitions we cover, we provide access to all the briefs.
About SCOTUSblog

Berman, Douglas A. Sentencing Law and Policy: An Affiliate of the Law Professor Blog Network.
Douglas A. Berman
https://sentencing.typepad.com/
Written by a law school professor whiose specialty is the war on drugs, Sentencing Law and Policy lives up to its name with lengthy, in-depth articles on criminal law and sentencing.
Eileen H. Kramer

Hibbitts, Bernard. Jurist: Legal News and Research
https://www.jurist.org/
JURIST is the world’s only law school-based comprehensive legal news and research service. Its professionally-trained staff of law faculty and law students report and research the latest legal developments in real time for members of the legal community and the public at large.
https://www.jurist.org/faq/

Howe Amy. Howe on the Court.
Amy Howe
http://amylhowe.com/
Plain English articles on Supremem Court cases and the law behind them from an author who also writes for SCOTUSBlog.
Eileen H. Kramer

Merritt, Jeralyn and Armando Llorens. Talk Left: The Polictics of Crime.
http://www.talkleft.com/
Welcome to TalkLeft, the on-line source for liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news...TalkLeft is not a neutral site. Our mission is to intelligently and thoroughly examine issues, legal cases, candidates and legislative initiatives as they pertain to constitutional rights, particularly those of persons accused of crime. Talkleft is intended for the public, journalists covering crime-based news and politics, policy makers and of course, the criminal defense community.
Sourcehttp://www.talkleft.com/
special/mission

The Sentencing Project.
The Sentencing Project
https://www.sentencingproject.org/
Founded in 1986, The Sentencing Project works for a fair and effective U.S. criminal justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing policy, addressing unjust racial disparities and practices, and advocating for alternatives to incarceration. Our work includes the publication of groundbreaking research, aggressive media campaigns, and strategic advocacy for policy reform. As a result of The Sentencing Project’s research, publications, and advocacy, many people know that this country is the world’s leader in incarceration; that racial disparities pervade the criminal justice system; that over six million Americans can’t vote because of felony convictions; and that thousands of women and children have lost food stamps and cash assistance as the result of convictions for drug offenses.
https://www.sentencingproject.org/about-us/

Supreme Court of the United States
FindLaw: For Legal Professionals.
https://blogs.findlaw.com/supreme_court/
Plain English and current articles on Supreme Court cases and other news.
Eileen H. Kramer

Wasserman, Howard et. al. PrawfsBlawg: Where Intellectual Honesty has (Almost Always) Trumped Partisanship Since 2005
Howard Wasserman
https://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/
prawfsblawg/
In depth articles on Supreme Court cases, other cases, law in general, and public policy by a variety of law professors at a diverse group of southern law schools.
Eileen H. Kramer

Wittes, Benjamin et. al. Lawfare: Hard National Security Choices.
The Lawfare Insitute
https://www.lawfareblog.com/
We mean to devote this blog to that nebulous zone in which actions taken or contemplated to protect the nation interact with the nation’s laws and legal institutions. We will, I am sure, construe this subject broadly to include subjects as far-flung as cybersecurity, Guantánamo habeas litigation, targeted killing, biosecurity, universal jurisdiction, the Alien Tort Statute, the state secrets privilege and countless other related and not-so-related matters. . .
https://www.lawfareblog.com/
about-lawfare-brief
-history-term-and-site

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The US Supreme Court may seem remote enough to be another world, yet at least some of its cases effect: your representation in Congress, what you can purhcase, how you deal with an employer, what happens if you become disabled, liberty or lack thereof for those imprisioned, and life or death for those facing capital punishment. This display focuses on ten(10) interesting cases that do more than just push federal regulations' papers. It includes articles, books, media, blogs, databases, and more.

Work and Money

New Prime v. Oliveira

Does a truck driver, who was for a time an indepednent contractor, have to deal with with his parent company via binding arbitration, or is he a transportation worker who can seek redress in court?

The Editorial Board. "The Trouble with Trucking." New York Times.
August 12, 2018, p. SR8.
Nexis Uni Accessed 19 November 2018.
Mr. Oliveira's lawsuit seeks back pay for himself and other contractor drivers. The company has sought to have the suit thrown out, arguing that the company's contract with Mr. Oliveira requires him to submit disputes to arbitration. But a Federal District Court and the United States Court of Appeals in Boston ruled that Mr. Oliveira could bring his case in federal court because the 1925 Federal Arbitration Act exempts transportation workers.
The Editorial Board. "The Trouble with Trucking." New York Times, August 12, 2018, p. SR8. Nexis Uni, Search Nexis Uni. Retrieved 19 November 2018.

Jalliet, James. "Arbitration Dispute to go Before High Court."
Overdrive.
v. 58, n. 4, April 2018, p. 26

Business Sourcce Complete, Accessed 19 November 2018. In its next term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit brought by an owner-operator against New Prime Inc., a subsidiary of Prime Inc., that challenges the carrier’s requirement that disputes between the carrier and its drivers be handled outside of court via third-party arbitration.
Jalliet, James. "Arbitration Dispute to go Before High Court." Overdrive, v. 58, n. 4, April 2018, p. 26, , http://ezproxy.gsu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/
login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=129094640&site=eds-live&scope=site. Accessed 19 November 2018.

Mann, Ronald. "Argument Analysis: Justices Dubious about Enforcing Arbitration Agreements for Transportation Workers."
SCOTUSBlog, 3 October 2018. Accessed 19 November 2018.
Are truckers, hired as independent contractors, exempt from being forced into arbitration, due to the 1925, Federal Arbitration Act. The Justices seem to think driver, Dominic Oliveira, and his attorney, Jennifer Bennett, may have a case!
Eileen H. Kramer

Repa, Barbara Kate. Your Rights in the Workplace. 6th ed.
Nolo, 2002.
Call #: KF3455.Z9 R47 2002
Your Rights in the Workplace covers everything from rules for hiring and getting paid through losing a job and unemployment benefits -- all in plain English. Get the facts on: illegal firings and layoffs; challenging a job loss; unemployment, disability and workers' compensation insurance….
http://www.amazon.com

Viscelli, Steve. The Big Rig: Trucking and the Decline of the American Dream.
Univerity of California Press, 2016.
Call #: Ebook Central
Long-haul trucks have been described as sweatshops on wheels. The typical long-haul trucker works the equivalent of two full-time jobs, often for little more than minimum wage. But it wasn’t always this way. Trucking used to be one of the best working-class jobs in the United States.
http://books.google.com

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Apple v. Pepper

Is Apple's iStore a monopoly. Unlike Android where there are a few marketplaces out there, Apple device developers can only sell their wares in the iStore and Apple owners can only buy them there. Meanwhile, Apple takes a thirty percent cut of developer sales. Is this a monopoly? It depends on whether those buying apps are direct consumers.

"American Bar Association: Media Alert: Pepper v. Apple Inc.--Ninth Circuit." Western State Law Review, vol. 44, no. 259 Spring, 2017.
Nexis Uni, Accessed 16 November 2018.
Owners of iPhones who purchase iPhone applications are now considered direct purchasers from Apple's "App Store." Purchasers now have standing to sue since Apple has the exclusive authority to sell the product at a price Apple sets, making the argument for antitrust violation sustainable in court. If plaintiffs prevail on remand this may allow third-party developers to sell the applications they created at a more competitive price outside the "App Store." Note: This article focuses quite a bit on technicalities, but it also explains that defining the role of a direct purchaser is important in monopoly cases.
Eileen H. Kramer and "American Bar Association: Media Alert: Pepper v. Apple Inc.--Ninth Circuit." Western State Law Review, vol. 44, no. 259 Spring, 2017. Nexis Uni, Search Nexis Uni. Accessed November 16, 2018.

Chen, Brian X. Always on: How the IPhone Unlocked the Anything - Anytime - Anywhere Future--and Locked Us In.
Da Capo Press, 2011.
Call #: HM851 .C445 2011
But the iPhone has implications far beyond the phone or gadget market. In fact, it's opening the way to what Brian Chen calls the "always-on" future, where we are all constantly connected to a global Internet via flexible, incredibly capable gadgets that allow us to do anything, anytime, from anywhere. This has far-reaching implications--both positive and negative--throughout all areas of our lives, opening the door for incredible personal and societal advances while potentially sacrificing both privacy and creative freedom in the process.
http://books.google.com

Galloway, Scott. The Four : the Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google.
Penguin, 2017.
Call #: Clarkston Browsing Collection
Instead of buying the myths these companies broadcast, Galloway asks fundamental questions. How did the Four infiltrate our lives so completely that they're almost impossible to avoid (or boycott)? Why does the stock market forgive them for sins that would destroy other firms? And as they race to become the world's first trillion-dollar company, can anyone chal lenge them?
http://books.google.com

Matsakis, Louise.
"The Supreme Court Will Decide If Apple's App Store Is a Monopoly."
Wired,
18 June 2018, Accessed 19 November 2018.
Has Apple monopolized the market for iPhone apps? That's the question at the heart of Apple Inc. v. Pepper, a case the Supreme Court agreed to hear Monday, which could have wide-reaching implications for consumers as well as other companies like Amazon. The dispute is over whether Apple, by charging app developers a 30 percent commission fee and only allowing iOS apps to be sold through its own store, has inflated the price of iPhone apps. Apple, supported by the Trump administration, argues that the plaintiffs in the case—iPhone consumers—don't have the right to sue under current antitrust laws in the US.
Matsakis, Louise. "The Supreme Court Will Decide If Apple's App Store Is a Monopoly." Wired, 18 June 2018, https://www.wired.com/story/
pepper-v-apple-supreme-court-app-store-antitrust/ Accessed 19 November 2018.

Robertson, Adi.
"What happens if Apple loses its Supreme Court App Store antitrust appeal?" The Verge,
June 2018. Accessed 19 November 2019.
arlier this week, the Supreme Court officially picked up the long-running antitrust case Apple v. Pepper. The court will decide whether iPhone users can sue Apple for locking down the iOS ecosystem, something the suit’s plaintiffs say is creating an anti-competitive monopoly. Apple v. Pepper could theoretically affect how tech companies can build walled gardens around their products. The Supreme Court isn’t going to make a call on that specific issue, but its decision could affect people’s relationship with all kinds of digital platforms. Here’s what’s at stake when the Supreme Court case starts, which should happen sometime in the next year.
obertson, Adi. "What happens if Apple loses its Supreme Court App Store antitrust appeal?" The Verge, 20 June 2018, Accessed 19 November, 2018.

Silver, Stephen. "US DOJ sides with Apple over App Store antitrust allegations in Supreme Court brie".
appleinsider,
10 May 2018.
The Department of Justice on Wednesday filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting Apple's fight against a class action suit alleging that the company violates antitrust laws in regards to how it assesses app store fees, and how it decides what is hosted on the App Store.
Silver, Stephen. ""US DOJ sides with Apple over App Store antitrust allegations in Supreme Court brief." appleinsider, 10 May 2018, http://books.google.com

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Biestek v. Berryhill

In complicated claims for Social Security Disability, the Social Security agency uses a five part test that includes input from a vocational expert. Does this vocational expert have to disclose the evidence behind her conclusions so that the person claiming disability can challenge it more effectively? That is what this case will decide.

Dubin, Jonn C. " The Labor Market Side of Disability-Benefits Policy and Law."
Southern California Review of Law and Social Justice,
vol. 20, no. 1, Winter 2011. Accessed 16 November 2018.
The popular conception of "disability" under the Social Security Administration's (SSA or "he Agency") benefit programs¹ is that it derives from a standard based on objective medical facts demonstrated through scientific and clinical processes.² In truth, however, social security disability "embraces a specific context and frame of reference - disability from work."³ Under the Social Security Act, claimants are disabled if they are unable to perform " work which exists in significant numbers either in the region where [the claimant] lives or in several regions of the country."⁴ Accordingly, the disability inquiry requires either a presumptive or more individualized determination of whether medically demonstrated conditions and limitations preclude meaningful participation in the labor market. This inquiry takes into account some vocational factors deemed relevant to making workplace adjustments, such as age, education, and prior work experience. The Act, however, provides no further elaboration on the meaning of "work which exists in significant numbers."
Dubin, Jonn C. " The Labor Market Side of Disability-Benefits Policy and Law." Southern California Review of Law and Social Justice, vol. 20, no. 1, Winter 2011. Search Nexis Uni. Accessed November 16, 2018.

Epstein, Lita. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Social Security and Medicare, 3rd ed.,
Alpha Books, 2010.
Call #: HD7125 .E652 2010
Complex, ever-changing, and controversial, the future of our current system of Social Security and Medicare is uncertain. This indispensable guide explains the proposed changes and current status of these important social programs. Completely revised to incorporate changes to compensation scales and survivor benefits, and with an expanded section on Medicare and the new drug programs, this book is the most up-to-date overview of Social Security and Medicare currently available.
http://books.google.com

Hubley, Nathaniel O. "Note: The Untouchables: Why a Vocational Expert's Testimony in Social Security Disability Hearings Cannot Be Touched." Valparaiso University Law Review,
vol. 43, no. 353 Fall, 2008. Accessed 21 November 2018. The integrity of VE [Vocational Expert] testimony has been compromised for several reasons, including the fact that "[t]here presently are no standards to become a vocational expert, no training, no supervision, and no credential requirements."⁹ Additionally, the vocational field is a relatively new discipline and the methodology invoked by VEs in analyzing DOT[Dictionary of Occupational Titles] data and vocational information of a disability claimant is not an exact science.¹⁰ In fact, the point at which a scientific principle crosses the line from experimental to demonstrable is often debated.¹¹ Still, the SSA [Social Security Administration]"figures [that] the DOT and its related data are 'better than nothing.' But 'better than nothing' is not a reliable basis [from which] to award and deny critical life-sustaining benefits to the disabled and disadvantaged."¹²
Hubley, Nathaniel O. "Note: The Untouchables: Why a Vocational Expert's Testimony in Social Security Disability Hearings Cannot Be Touched." Valparaiso University Law Review, vol. 43, no. 353 Fall, 2008. Accessed 21 November 2018.

Matheny, Ken. "Social Security Disability and the Older Worker: A Proposal for Reform " Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy, vol. 10, no. 37, Winter 2003. Accessed 16 November 2018.
With older workers applying for Social Secucrity Disability, the "transferable skills," which a vocational expert finds, often barely exist and are nearly always NOT a ticket to employment. Cases cited in this article are similar to Biestek v. Berryhill.
Eileen H. Kramer

Morton, David A., and Nolo. Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability: Getting & Keeping Your Benefits, 3rd. ed.,
Nolo, 2006.
Call #: HD7105.25.U6 M675 2006
Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability covers the criteria for getting disability benefits for back problems, heart and cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, autoimmune diseases, mental issues like depression and anxiety, and 200 more medical conditions. Learn how to match the medical details of your disability to Social Security regulations to make sure you have the right evidence to qualify for the benefits you're due when you apply.
http://books.google.com

Schmidt, Erin. "Social Security Disability Practice." American Bar Association GPSolo, vol. 30, March/April 2014, p. 30. Accessed 16 Novvember 2016.
Explains to attorneys (and their clients) how to navigate the "five step process" to obtain or appeal a Social Security disability claim. The author stresses that social security does NOT take the real world or local job market into consideration.
Eileen H. Kramer

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Crime and Punishment

General Sources

Chen, Elsa Y. "Impacts of 'Three Strikes and You're Out' on Crime Trends in California and Throughtout the United States." Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, vol. 24, no. 4, 2008, pp.345-370. Acccessed 19 November, 2018.
The impacts of Three Strikes on crime in California and throughout the United States are analyzed using cross-sectional time series analysis of state-level data from 1986 to 2005. The model measures both deterrence and incapacitation effects, controlling for preexisting crime trends and economic, demographic, and policy factors. Despite limited use outside California, the presence of a Three Strikes law appears to be associated with slightly but significantly faster rates of decline in robbery, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft nationwide. Three Strikes also is associated with slower declines in murder rates.
Chen, Elsa Y. "Impacts of 'Three Strikes and You're Out' on Crime Trends in California and Throughtout the United States." Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, vol. 24, no. 4, 2008, pp.345-370. Acccessed 19 November, 2018

Dressler, Joshua. Encyclopedia of Crime & Justice, 2nd ed., Macmillan Reference USA, 2002.
Call # HV6017 .E52 2002
The Encyclopedia of Crime & Justice is a unique interdisciplinary source, dealing with not only law but also sociology, psychology, history and economics. With entries ranging widely from abortion to rape and from family violence to wiretapping, the Encyclopedia offers a true mirror of issues dominating todays headlines.
http://www.amazon.com

Haerens, Margaret. "Mandatory Minimum Sentencing." Gale Cenage Learning, 2010, Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Accessed 19 November 2018. Presents mandatory minimum sentencing largely as a part of the war on drugs, rather than in relation to the Armed Career Criminal Act being discussed at the Supreme Court this fall. Includes at least one chapter, however, on California's Three Strikes law and offers commentary in both the defense and absurdity of mandatory minimums.
Eileen H. Kramer

Levinson, David. Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment., Sage Publications, 2002.
Call # HV6017 .E324 2002
Crime. It started with Cain and Abel, and it won’t end with the Sopranos. Our fascination with transgression and its punishment is universal. And now, from Sage – the publisher of criminal justice abstracts and other standards in the field – comes the ultimate reference source on this all-consuming subject: comprehensive, authoritative, up-to-the second.
http://books.google.com

Little, Rory. "Criminal cases in the October 2018 term: A Law Professor’s Dream." SCOTUSBlog,18 September 2018, Accessed 19 November 2018.
During this fall's Supreme Court sessions, Justices will decide: whether a trailer is an appropriate place for a burglary, whether unarmed robbery is a violent crime, and when does assett forfeiture become an excessive fine under the Constitution's eighth ammendment. They will decide death penalty cases involving a rare medical condition, and an inmate who cannot remember his crime. Note: Fowers v. Mississippi, another death penalty case, was not on the Court's docket at the time of this article.
Eileen H. Kramer

Walsh, Jennifer Edwards Three Strikes Laws, Greenwood Press, 2007.
Call # KF9685 .W356 2007
Do Three Strikes laws really prevent crime? Do they cost less than releasing repeat offenders time and time again? Are they evenly and fairly applied? These questions and more are answered in these pages through a careful analysis of the costs, benefits, and results of Three Strikes legislation. Walsh analyzes the historical development of the Three Strikes movement in the context of get tough sentencing reforms and provides detail about the various Three Strikes statutes adopted across the nation, while offering an in-depth exmamination of the controversies they have produced.
http://books.google.com

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United States v. Stitt and United States v. Stimms

Burglarly is part of the offenses that make up the Armed Career Criminal Act's three strikes resulting in a mandatory fifteen year prison sentence, but is robbing a vehicle burglarly, and does it count toward the three strikes that enhance a criminal's sentence?

Burglary, Theft, Robbery, US Department of Justice, National Center for Victims of Crime, 2017, Accessed 19 November 2018.
Burglary, theft, and robbery each amount to billions of dollars in total monetary losses each year. Larceny-theft (or simply “theft”) is defined as the unlawful removal of property. Burglary, a property crime, is defined as theft from an unoccupied dwelling. Robbery, unlike theft or burglary, is considered a violent crime and occurs when an individual is present during a theft or attempted theft.
Burglary, Theft, Robbery, US Department of Justice, National Center for Victims of Crime, 2017, https://permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo83887/2017NCVRW_Burglary_508.pdf Accessed 19 November 2018.

Catalana, Shannan. National Crime Victimization Survey: Victimization During Household Burglary , US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, September 2010, .
Is burglary a violent crime that should add toward the Armed Career Criminal Act's three strikes of infamy? Look at these statistics and decide for yourself.
Eileen H. Kramer

Kopp, Philip M. "Is Burglary a Violent Crime? An Empirical Investigation of the Armed Career Criminal Act’s Classification of Burglary as a Violent Felony." Criminal Justice Policy Review,December 2016, pp.1-18. Accessed 19 November 2018.
The present study investigated the ACCA’s classification of burglary as violent through analysis of National Crime Victimization Survey data for the period of 2009 to 2014. Results showed that burglary is overwhelmingly a non-violent offense. The national incidence of actual violence or threats of violence during a burglary was 7.9%. At most, 2.7% of burglaries involved actual acts of violence.
Kopp, Philip M. "Is Burglary a Violent Crime? An Empirical Investigation of the Armed Career Criminal Act’s Classification of Burglary as a Violent Felony." Criminal Justice Policy Review, December 2016, pp.1-18. doi://10.1177/0887403416684594. Accessed 19 November 2018.

OGCA § 16-7-1. "Burglary." 2018, Nexis Uni, Accessed November 16, 2018.
This is Georgia's definition of burglary. It includes boats, arts, railroad, sheds and other nonresidential structures.
Eileen H. Kramer

OGCA § 16-7-5. "Home Invasion in the First and Second Degree." 2018, Nexis Uni, Accessed November 16, 2018.
Home Invasion is a more violent sort of burglary which involves at least the threat of force.
Eileen H. Kramer

OGCA § 16-7-2. "Smash and Grab Burglary." 2018, Nexis Uni, Accessed November 16, 2018.
Georgia's definition of robbing often closed stores by breaking their front windows. Smash and Grab burglary carries a longer sentence because it yields a larger haul of ill gotten gain, but is it violent???
Eileen H. Kramer

Wright, Richard T., and Scott H. Decker. Burglars On The Job: Streetlife and Residential Break-ins, Northeastern University Press, 2011. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/lib/gsu/detail.action?docID=1085055. Accessed 19 November 2018.
Call # EBook Central
Through extensive and candid interviews, the authors of this ground-breaking work have studied burglars' decision-making processes within the context of their streetlife culture. In this volume they present their findings in the areas of motivation, target selection, methods of entering and searching a residence, and methods of selling stolen goods, concluding with a discussion of the theoretical implications of their research.
http://books.google.com

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Stokeling v. United States

Is robbery ALWAYS a violent offense that can trigger a mandatory, fifteen year, minimum sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act. States' definitions of robbery and its degrees vary, and robberies themselves include very different amounts of force, fear, and resistance.

Hall, Kenneth. "Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case Regarding Definition of ‘Violent Felony." Jurist, 2 April 2018. Accessed 19 November 2018.br> In the case at hand, the petitioner was convicted of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, in violation of the law, which would impose harsh sentencing guidelines if the defendant was deemed to be an armed career criminal under the ACCA. At issue is whether Florida’s unarmed robbery statue is categorically a “violent felony” regardless of the amount of force used in the act.
Hall, Kenneth "Supreme Court agrees to hear case regarding definition of ‘violent felony.'" Jurist, 2 April 2018, https://www.jurist.org/news/2018/04/supreme-court-agrees-to-hear-case-regarding-definition-of-violent-felony/. Accessed 19 November 2018.

Kahn, Conrad and Danli Song. "A Touchy Subject: The Eleventh Circuit's Tug-of-War Over What Constitutes 'Violent Physical Force,'" University of Miami Law Review vol. 72, no. 1130, Summer 2018. Nexis Uni, Search Nexis Uni. Accessed 26 November 2018.
Robbery can be a crime that adds to the Armed Career Criminal Act's enhanced sentencing, resulting in fifteen years to life in prison. In Florida, a person is guilty of robbery if he/she: "(1) bumps someone from behind; (2) engages in a tug-of-war over a purse; (3) pushes someone; (4) shakes someone; (5) struggles to escape someone's grasp; (6) peels back someone's fingers; or (7) pulls a scab off someone's finger." Is convicted Florida robber, Denard Stokeling, guilty of a violent offense under the Armed Career Criminal Act?
Eileen H. Kramer and Kahn, Conrad and Danli Song. "A Touchy Subject: The Eleventh Circuit's Tug-of-War Over What Constitutes 'Violent Physical Force,'" University of Miami Law Review, vol. 72, no. 1130, Summer 2018. Nexis Uni, Search Nexis Uni. Accessed 26 November 2018.

OGCA § 16-8-41. "Armed Robbery; Robbery by intimidation; Taking controlled substance from Pharmacy in Course of Committing Offense." 2018, Nexis Uni, Accessed November 16, 2018.
Georgia's definition of robbery. Armed robbery is the more sevvere crime, but robbery by intimidation is still robbery.
Eileen H. Kramer

Wright, Richard T., and Scott H. Decker. Armed Robbers In Action: Stickups and Street Culture,, Northeastern University Press, 2011.
Call # EBook Central
One of the most feared crimes among urban dwellers, armed robbery poses a serious risk of injury or death, and presents daunting challenges for law enforcement. Yet little is known about the complex factors that motivate assailants who use a weapon to take property by force or threat of force. Armed Robbers in Action is not like previous studies that focus on the often distorted accounts of incarcerated offenders. Richard T. Wright and Scott H. Decker conducted dangerous, life-threatening field research on the streets of St. Louis to obtain more forthright responses from robbers about their motives and methods.
http://books.google.com

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Timbs v. Indiana

The Constitution's Eighth Amendment prohbiits excessive fines, but does this also prevent state and local governments from engaging in disproportionate civil forfeiture, even for dealing in drugs?

"8,000 Pounds of Shark Fins." First Mondays, Hosted by Dan Epps and Beth Colgan, SCOTUSBlog, OT2018 #9, 265 November 2018. Accessed 26 November 2018.
Despite its title, this episode of SCOTUSBlog's weekly show about current Supreme Court action for the week, focuses on Timbs v. Indiana and the Eighth Amendment's Excessive Fines clause.
Eileen H. Kramer

"Eighth Amendment: Bail, Fines, and Punishment." Amendments 5-8: Justice Amendments Produced by Cambridge Educational, 2006, Films on Demand, Accessed 19 November 2018.
Constitutional amendments 5, 6, 7, and 8 together constitute a bill of rights for people accused of crimes. The eighth amendment outlines rights regarding bail, fines, and punishment; debate surrounds the idea that capital punishment should be banned
"Eighth Amendment: Bail, Fines, and Punishment." Amendments 5-8: Justice Amendments, Produced by Cambridge Educational, 2006, Films on Demand, http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=96311&xtid=8104. Accessed 19 November 2018.

Films Media Group, et al. Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Asset Forfeiture Laws , Produced by WSMV TV, 1994. Films on Demand, Accessed 19 November 2018.
The concept of presumed innocence is fundamental to American justice, but this program shows how private property in Tennessee was seized on suspicion of illegal activity. Without pressing criminal charges, the case is brought in civil court and the person who has lost his cash or his car must prove his innocence. The program profiles a "typical" citizen who has come up against the asset forfeiture laws—most are minorities, too poor to pay for proper legal representation, and unlikely (whether they have committed a crime or not) ever to get their money back.
Films Media Group, et al. Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Asset Forfeiture Laws, Produced by WSM TV, 1994. Films on Demand, http:// digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=96311&xtid=4286. Accessed 19, November 2018.

"How Crime Pays: The Unconstitutionality Of Modern Civil Asset Forfeiture as a Tool of Criminal Law Enforcement." Harvard Law Review, vol. 131, no. 2387 June 2018. Nexis Uni, Accessed 16 November, 2018.
In 1989 Attorney General Richard Thornburgh touted the benefits of civil asset forfeiture, describing how it enables "a drug dealer to serve time in a forfeiture-financed prison after being arrested by agents driving a forfeiture-provided automobile while working in a forfeiture-funded sting operation."¹ Nearly thirty years later, the symbiotic relationship between civil forfeiture and law enforcement continues to thrive.
"How Crime Pays: The Unconstitutionality of Modern Civil Asset Forfeiture as a Tool of Criminal Law Enforcement." Harvard Law Review, vol. 131, no. 2387 June 2018. Search Nexis Uni. Accessed November 16, 2018.

Howe, Amy. "Argument Preview: Justices to Consider Whether Eighth Amendment Ban on 'Excessive Fines' Applies To The States." SCOTUSBlog,16 November 2018. Accessed 26 November 2018.
aking a $42,000 SUV as civil forfeiture in a drug offense is probably excessive, but does the Constitution's Eighth Amendment's Excessive Fines clause apply to states and localities? Only the Supreme Court can decide.
Eileen H. Kramer

McLean, Nicholas M. "Livelihood, Ability to Pay, and the Original Meaning of the Excessive Fines Clause" Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly, vol. 40 no. 33, Summer 2013. Nexis Uni. Accessed November 16, 2018.
As a historical matter, the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment can appropriately be understood as encoding two complementary, but distinct, constitutional principles: (1) a proportionality principle, linking the penalty to the offense, and (2) an additional limiting principle linking the penalty imposed to the offender's economic status and circumstances. We might call this second principle the Eighth Amendment's "economic survival" (or perhaps "livelihood-protection") norm. And yet - in sharp contrast to the large academic literature that has developed on the issue of proportionality ⁹- scholarly exploration of this further core meaning of the Eighth Amendment remains notable largely for its absence.
McLean, Nicholas M. "Livelihood, Ability to Pay, and the Original Meaning of the Excessive Fines Clause." Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly, vol. 40 no. 33, Summer 2013. Nexis Uni. Accessed November 16, 2018.

Ruback, Barry R. and Mark H. Bergstrom. "Economic Sanctions in Criminal Justice: Purposes, Effects, and Implications." Criminal Justice and Behavior, vol. 33, no. 2, Apr. 2006, pp. 242–273. Accessed 19 November 2018.
In this article, the authors present a framework for considering five different economic sanctions: restitution, costs, fees, fines, and forfeiture. The intended purposes of these sanctions are described, and the research on the imposition of these sanctions is reviewed, particularly the extent to which offenders are likely to pay these court-ordered amounts and the effect of economic sanctions on recidivism. Four specific problems with economic sanctions are presented: setting the amounts of the sanctions, ensuring payment, setting priorities among different sanctions, and defining the roles of probation officers in the monitoring of payment.
Ruback, Barry R. and Mark H. Bergstrom. "Economic Sanctions in Criminal Justice: Purposes, Effects, and Implications." Criminal Justice and Behavior, vol. 33, no. 2, Apr. 2006, pp. 242–273, doi://10.1177/0093854805284414. Accessed 19, 2018.

Totenberg, Nina. "Supreme Court To Take Up Ban On Excessive Fines." Hosted by David Greene with Tyson Timbs, Morning Edition,28 November 2018. National Public Radio. Accessed 28 November, 2018.
At issue in the case are the laws which allow state and local governments to confiscate cars, cash and even homes if they are used in the commission of a crime — any crime.
Totenberg, Nina. "Supreme Court To Take Up Ban On Excessive Fines." hosted by David Greene with Tyson Timbs, Morning Edition, 28 November 2018. National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/2018/11/28/671455699/supreme-court-to-take-up-ban-on-excessive-fines. Accessed 28 November 2018.

United States Government Accountability Office Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund: Transparency of Balances and Controls over Equitable Sharing Should Be Improved Government Accountability Office, 2012.
Every year, federal law enforcement agencies seize millions of dollars in assets in the course of investigations. The AFF was established to receive the proceeds of forfeiture and holds more than $1 billion in assets. DOJ uses the proceeds from forfeitures primarily to cover the costs of forfeiture activities. DOJ also shares forfeiture proceeds with state and local agencies that participate in joint investigations through its equitable sharing program. GAO was asked to review (1) AFF’s revenues and exp enditures from fiscal years 2003 through 2011 a nd DOJ's processes for carrying over funds for the next fiscal year, and (2) the extent to which DOJ has established controls to help ensure that the equitable sharing program is implemented in accordance with established guidance.
United States Government Accountability Office. Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund: Transparency of Balances and Controls over Equitable Sharing Should Be Improved, Government Accountability Office, 2012, https://www.gao.gov/assets/600/592349.pdf

Warchol, Greg L., Dennis M. Payne, and Bryan R Johnson. "Federal Forfeiture: Law, Policy and Practice." Criminal Justice Studies, vol. 11, no. 4, 1999, pp. 403-423.
A detailed and comrphensible history of modern asset forfeiture from the mid 1980's to the dawn of the twenty-first century. A snapshot taken in 1999, revealed that most forfeitures are administrative and involve mainly money and vehicles.
Eileen H. Kramer

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