tailieunhanh - Gale Encyclopedia Of American Law 3Rd Edition Volume 4 P11

Gale Encyclopedia of American Law Volume 4 P11 fully illuminates today's leading cases, major statutes, legal terms and concepts, notable persons involved with the law, important documents and more. Legal issues are fully discussed in easy-to-understand language, including such high-profile topics as the Americans with Disabilities Act, capital punishment, domestic violence, gay and lesbian rights, physician-assisted suicide and thousands more. | EIGHTH AMENDMENT 89 representative believed that all the punishments authorized by the government comported with the cruel and unusual punishments clause. The representative might not have considered whether a particular punishment was in any way cruel or unusual as he cast his vote for ratification. Conversely the representative might have cast his vote for ratification primarily because he believed that a certain punishment would be deemed cruel and unusual under the Eighth Amendment. No documentary evidence from the state ratification proceedings reflects which punishments particular representatives found permissible or impermissible under the Eighth Amendment. Nor is there much evidence indicating that the Framers intended their understanding of the Constitution to be binding on subsequent generations. james madison who was the primary architect of the Bill of Rights believed that the thoughts and intentions of the Framers should have no influence on courts when they interpret the provisions of the Constitution. As a guide in expounding and applying the provisions of the Constitutions Madison wrote the debates and incidental decisions of the Constitutional Convention can have no authoritative character. For this reason Madison refused to publish his Notes of the Debates in the Federal Convention during his lifetime. Another criticism of the narrow originalist approach emanates from the language of the Eighth Amendment itself. Proponents of this viewpoint observe that the Eighth Amendment is written in abstract language. it prohibits excessive bail and excessive fines and does not set forth any specific amount that judges may use as a measure when setting bail or imposing fines. Although it prohibits cruel and unusual punishments it does not enumerate which criminal penalties should be abolished. The Framers could have drafted the Eighth Amendment to explicitly outlaw certain barbaric punishments. They obviously were familiar with ways to draft constitutional .