Civil Law

“Solitary Confinement, Human Dignity, and the Eighth Amendment”

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Laura Rovner now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract:

The harms of solitary confinement have been well-documented for centuries, yet the practice persists.  Despite recent efforts to reform the use of solitary confinement in certain states and localities, over 120,000 people are currently confined in solitary conditions in American prisons and jails.  In part, America’s addiction to solitary remains incurable because the doctrine governing whether

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Supreme Court

Kentucky man says police violated Fourth Amendment by searching his backpack during arrest

Kentucky man says police violated Fourth Amendment by searching his backpack during arrest

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The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

The Fourth Amendment generally bars police from searching people or their property without a warrant. The Supreme Court has made an exception for searches made during an arrest. But although that exception applies to arrestees themselves, it only extends to their nearby possessions if there is a risk they can … Read the rest