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Other than the holdings, what are the biggest "stories" of the Graham and Comstock rulings?

By Douglas A. Berman

I have barely skimmed the Graham and Comstock rulings, and already I have so many thoughts about the holdings and their potential consequences (especially regarding future non-capital Eighth Amendment litigation).  But, before going too blog crazy, I am planning to head to a local coffee shop so I can read the full opinions without too many distractions and without getting my own views colored too much by what others start saying about these cases.  Yet I wanted to do this quick post to encourage readers to opine on what they think are some of the biggest "stories" emerging from the Graham and Comstock rulings. My first take concerns the votes and authorship of various opinions in Graham.  First, that Justice Kennedy wrote the opinion for the Court is notable and important for various political reasons, and the fact that Chief Justice Roberts voted for the defendant (in order to make the head-count 6-3) seems to me to be especially notable and important for similar reasons...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on May 17, 2010 (boomark / email).