Friday, September 14, 2012

Robinson v. California case brief

 
  • Robinson v California- D was convicted under a CA statute which holds a person criminal liable for being “addicted to the use of narcotics.”
      • ISSUE To hold someone criminally liable for something that (1) doesn’t inherently involve an action or (2) something you can’t control
      • Narcotic addiction is a disease which apparently may be contracted innocently or involuntarily. A state law which imprisons a person thus afflicted as a criminal, even though he has never touched any narcotic drug within the State or been guilty of any irregular behavior there inflicts cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the 14th Amendment.
      • The court finds that since the state of CA recognizes drug addiction as a illness, it would be cruel and unusual to imprison any person, even for one day, just based on their status as a drug abuser
      • Cruel and unusual punishment results not from confinement of the person but from convicting the addict of a crime.
        • Statute too broad b/c it sweeps in crack babies

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