59 - United States v. Ramirez and the New Rules for Victim Impact Statements

Send us Fan MailIn this episode we discuss the recent C.A.A.F. case of United States v. Ramirez, which comes close to addressing the constitutional due process requirements in voir dire when the accused is charged with a crime of violence, the victim is of a different race than the accused, and the defense requests racial bias questions in voir dire.  The case is a near miss - but interesting nonetheless.  We also hear from Major Heather Bruha on defensive advocacy under the new Rules pertaining to victim impact statements, including specific sentence recommendations, no advance notice as to content, and perhaps more latitude in what amounts to victim impact.