Law blogger catches SCOTUS omission

Cyndy Aleo-Carreira — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:11:56 -0700

The New York Times notes that law blogger (or blawger) CAAFlog caught an omission in the Supreme Court's inventory of jurisdictions that made up part of a ruling that the death penalty for the rape of a child was uncontsitutional. In the inventory, part of Justice Anthony Kennedy's conclusion, it was stated that since the law could be applied in only six of the 36 states that have the death penalty, and that no law under Federal jurisdiction existed, applying the death penalty in these cases is "contrary to the 'evolving standards of decency.'"

However, CAAFlog noted that Congress had revised the Uniform Code of Military Justice a mere two years ago in order to add child rape to the military death penalty, and these changes were approved as part of the National Defense Authorization Act in 2006 as well.

I contacted lawyer Nicole Black of the New York blawg Sui Generis, who'd written a column about the Supreme Court's decision. Black feels that the omission wont' have much of an impact on the decision due to the separate nature of military law. The Uniform Code of Military Justice applies only to the armed forces and not the general public, so it isn't the same as Federal law.

It does illustrate, however, how closely government agencies are being watched, and judged, by online communities.

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Law blogger catches SCOTUS omission