Constitutional innocence
Article Abstract:
Commentators long debated the constitutionality of strict liability crimes. Some argue that strict liability offenses, which do not require proof of a culpable mental state, are unconstitutional and unjust. A review of Supreme Court cases suggests the principle of constitutional innocence which upholds strict liability crimes while limiting their application. Under this principle, strict liability would be constitutional only if the intentional conduct to which the particular statute applied could be criminalized by the legislature.
Publication Name: Harvard Law Review
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0017-811X
Year: 1999
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Constitutional law - abortion - Sixth Circuit strikes down Ohio ban of post-viability and dilation and extraction abortions
Article Abstract:
The US Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit held Ohio's prohibition of dilation and extraction abortions and of all abortions after fetal viability to be unconstitutional. However, the Supreme Court declared that the cardinal principle of statutory interpretation required federal courts to presume state laws to be constitutional by finding any fairly possible interpretation consistent with constitutionality. The 6th Circuit's ruling inverted this principle by resolving all statutory ambiguities in favor of unconstitutionality.
Publication Name: Harvard Law Review
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0017-811X
Year: 1999
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