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Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Illegal Juvenile LWOP Sentence Undermined Validity of Later Conviction
Loaded on Dec. 1, 2021
by Douglas Ankney
published in Prison Legal News
December, 2021, page 42
Filed under:
U.S. Sentencing Guidelines,
Juvenile Offenses/Offenders,
Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
Location:
Pennsylvania.
by Douglas Ankney
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that an illegal mandatory sentence of life without parole (“LWOP”) imposed upon a juvenile undermined the validity of a later conviction for assault by a life prisoner predicated on the LWOP.
In 1970, James Henry Cobbs was 17 years old when ...
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More from this issue:
- Environmental Indifference, by Anthony Moffa
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- $15,379,091 Judgment Entered Against Delaware DOC’s Former Health Care Provider for Narcotics and Medicare Fraud, by Chuck Sharman
- Report Highlights Force Feeding of Hunger Striking Asylum Seekers by ICE and GEO, by Edward Lyon
- Fourth Circuit Holds CoreCivic Immigration Detainees in New Mexico Not “Employees” Under FLSA
- San Luis Obispo County Jail Conditions Violate Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, by Keith Sanders
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- BOP Trust Fund Accounts Reportedly Shield Prisoners from Payment Obligations, by Dale Chappell
- $53 Million Settlement in Los Angeles Jail Strip Search Lawsuit Approved, by David Reutter
- Disenfranchisement the Old Fashioned Way, by Jayson Hawkins
- Whistleblower Alleges Hawaii Prison Officials Provided False Audit Data, by Kevin Dayton
- HRDC Sues Lincoln County Wisconsin Jail over Censorship Practices
- Ninth Circuit: Pretrial Detainees Have Right to Direct-View Safety Checks, by David Reutter
- Federal Prisons’ Switch to Scanning Mail Is a Surveillance Nightmare, by Lauren Gill
- Eleventh Circuit: Preliminary Injunctions Have 90-Day Limit Under PLRA; Permanent Injunction Required to Extend Relief, by David Reutter
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Illegal Juvenile LWOP Sentence Undermined Validity of Later Conviction, by Douglas Ankney
- Eighth Circuit Rules District Court Must Use Federal Law for Admissibility of Expert Testimony, by Douglas Ankney
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- California Supreme Court: Prisoners Cannot Legally Possess Cannabis, by Casey Bastian
- Public Records Suit Filed Against Florida DOC To Obtain Formula Used To Compute Sentences
- History Professor Fired After Criticizing University’s Racist Past and Pro-Prison Present, by Keith Sanders
- Prison Visitors Have Fourth Amendment Right to Refuse Strip Search and Option to Leave Prison
- Unreliable Drug Tests Standard for Law Enforcement and Prisons, by Keith Sanders
- Massachusetts Prisons Pledge to End Solitary, by Jayson Hawkins
- Civilly Detained Sex Offender Plaintiff Proceeding In Forma Pauperis Not a Prisoner Under PLRA
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- Eighth Circuit Holds Arkansas Jailers Entitled to Qualified Immunity in Prisoners’ Suit Over Black Mold in Showers, Lack of Cleaning Supplies, by Matthew Clarke
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More from Douglas Ankney:
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- $340,000 for Former Massachusetts Prisoner Whose Baby Was Stillborn, July 15, 2025
- New Jersey Supreme Court Refuses Guard’s Challenge to Firing for Failing to Report Kiss with Prisoner, July 15, 2025
- New York City Loses Bid to Withhold Jail Records, July 15, 2025
- Eleventh Circuit Announces New Deliberate Indifference Framework in Dismissing Georgia Prisoner’s Claim for Skipped Anti-Seizure Meds, July 15, 2025
- Washington Jail Settles DOJ Allegations of ADA Noncompliance in Failure to Treat Opioid Use Disorder, July 15, 2025
- Ohio Supreme Court Says Sheriff Must Get and Disclose Records of Private Contractors, July 15, 2025
- Third Circuit Rejects U.S. Sentencing Commission Amended Compassionate Release Policy, July 15, 2025
- South Carolina Prisoners Granted Class-Action Status in Suit Over Low Wages in Prison Industries Jobs, July 15, 2025
More from these topics:
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- Summary of the 2025 Drug Offenses Amendment by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Methamphetamine, Drug Mule, Machine Guns, Safety Valve.
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- Third Circuit Rejects U.S. Sentencing Commission Amended Compassionate Release Policy, July 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Compassionate Release.
- Tennessee Board of Parole Spanked for Failing to Make Recommendation to Governor on Prisoner’s Clemency Application, July 15, 2025. Parole Board Misconduct, Pardons/Clemency, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Release Decisions.
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- ACLU Sues BOP Over Failure to Implement First Step Act Release Credits, May 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, First Step Act, Bureau of Prisons (BOP).