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Majority on divided three-judge Eighth Circuit panel holds that state-law convictions involving a fake controlled substance do not count as strikes under a federal law that requires a life sentence for recidivist offenders

Majority on divided three-judge Eighth Circuit panel holds that state-law convictions involving a fake controlled substance do not count as strikes under a federal law that requires a life sentence for recidivist offenders: The home page for the web site MLB.com (which once belonged to the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius) reminds us that opening day for Major League Baseball is now just a little more than ten days and four hours away.

Thus, the definition what constitutes a strike will again become a subject of great interest. Today, for purposes of a federal law that mandates a life sentence for recidivist felony drug offenders, the Eighth Circuit had to decide whether state-law convictions involving fake controlled substances should count toward the requisite number of convictions necessary to produce a life sentence. By a vote of 2-1, the Court ruled "no" in a decision that you can access here.

Full post as published by How Appealing on March 25, 2010 (boomark / email).