The Supreme Court, Dr. Jekyll, and the due process of proof

Article Abstract:

The US Supreme Court's willingness to accept a state murder conviction in Montana v. Egelhoff in which exculpatory evidence was excluded suggests that the beyond a reasonable doubt standard may provide defendants with far less protection than commonly thought. In the case, the trial court allowed the defendant to admit evidence that he was too intoxicated to have committed he murder, but the court instructed the jury that the evidence of intoxication could not be used to rebut proof of intent. The Supreme Court found that states are free to exclude categories of exculpatory evidence.

Burden of proof, Testimony, Criminal procedure, Criminal intent, Exculpatory evidence

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Regulating prison informers under the due process clause

Article Abstract:

The decision by the US Supreme Court in Arizona v Fulminante discussed confessions to prison informers and their impact on due process but failed to establish any useful guidelines. Fulminante's confession of a murder to a prison informer was deemed to have been coerced, the coerced confession was not a harmless error but some confessions to informers could be. The court failed to address the issue of the inherent unreliability of prison informers, responding instead to the due process issue. However, the government's use of prison informers is a due process issue.

Analysis, Due process of law, Informers

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State taxation and the dormant Commerce Clause: the object-measure approach

Article Abstract:

The Supreme Court's four-part test in Complete Auto v. Brady for determining whether a state tax violates the Commerce Clause by imposing a burden on interstate commerce is discussed. The authors recommend that the test be streamlined to a waive apportionment for nondiscriminatory taxes on activities that can be reached by only one state, and to require apportionment for nondiscriminatory taxes on activities which can be reached by more than one state.

United States, Taxation, Interstate commerce, State taxation

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