RANDALL J. CRAIG LAW PLLC

UPDATES IN CRIMINAL LAW

I have been practicing criminal law for over twenty years.  At The Law Offices of Randall J. Craig we handle quite a few murder cases but this latest ruling has us shaking our head.  The Supreme Court ruled that a trial court did not err by entering a summary dismissal in a Rule 32 post conviction relief (PCR) matter related to a double homicide committed by a 17 year old. The PCR maintained there was newly discovered evidence  regarding recent scientific findings concerning juvenile psychology and neurology. The United States Supreme Court had held that the Eighth Amendment bars certain sentences for juvenile offenders when there was newly discovered evidence but here the Court ruled that the sentencing court had considered/contemplated similar evidence at the time of sentencing the defendant in 1993, whereby the alleged new evidence could not have changed the outcome.  State v. Amaral, CR-15-0090PR, 2/4/16