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Simple English definitions for legal terms

Eighth Amendment

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A quick definition of Eighth Amendment:

The Eighth Amendment is a part of the United States Constitution that says people can't be punished too harshly. It also says that bail (money paid to get out of jail before a trial) can't be too high, and fines (money paid as a punishment) can't be too much. This amendment is important because it protects people from being treated unfairly by the government.

A more thorough explanation:

The Eighth Amendment is a part of the United States Constitution that protects citizens from excessive bail, fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.

The Excessive Bail section of the Eighth Amendment protects citizens from being required to pay an unreasonably high amount of money to be released from jail before their trial. For example, if someone is arrested for a minor crime like shoplifting, it would be unfair to require them to pay a bail amount of $1 million. This section was established in the case of United States v. Motlow, where the court ruled that fixing bail at an unreasonably high amount is unconstitutional.

The Excessive Fines section of the Eighth Amendment protects citizens from being fined an amount that is grossly disproportionate to the crime they committed. For example, if someone is caught speeding and is fined $10,000, that would be considered excessive. This section was established in the case of Waters-Pierce Oil Co. v. Texas, where the court ruled that imposing grossly excessive fines is unconstitutional.

The Cruel and Unusual Punishment section of the Eighth Amendment protects citizens from being punished in a way that is grossly disproportionate to the crime they committed. For example, if someone is caught stealing a candy bar and is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, that would be considered cruel and unusual punishment. This section was established in the case of Furman v. Georgia, where the court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional because it was being applied in a way that was arbitrary and capricious.

In addition to protecting citizens from disproportionate punishment, this section also protects them from inhumane conditions of confinement. For example, if someone is being held in a jail cell that is overcrowded, unsanitary, and lacks basic necessities like food and water, that would be considered inhumane. This was established in the case of Whitley v. Albers, where the court ruled that prison officials can be held liable for violating the Eighth Amendment if they subject prisoners to cruel and unusual punishment.

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12:41
@JumpySubsequentDolphin: you know schools that are like 350th ranked have people with 170+ lsats, right? GPA and all that does play a role and bruce is likely not getting what he wants
HopefullyInLawSchool
12:42
Whats the point of being self defeating and never trying tho?
350th ranked law school: https://www.freedomlawschool.org
babycat
12:43
new question for folks here, do you think being kjd demonstrably hurts your application?
JumpySubsequentDolphin
12:43
hopefully not 😀
WorthlessAttractiveZombie
12:43
That’s incredible lion
yeah duke ed 2 is in jan, i think if i don't get in berk ed i'll do that assuming that i haven't gotten a decision from them by that point
12:43
haha i said "like," my local school is like 300-500th depending on year and they usually have 5+ 170+ scorers
2big2fail
12:44
i cant imagine it hurts your application if you demonstrate purpose and direction. the problem with some kjds is they dont really know what they want with life yet
the usnews rankings don't even go down that far
12:44
Duke is pretty gpa sensitive. The most sub 3 gpa friendly T14s are gulc, uva, and now cornell
babycat
12:44
@EvolBunny: there are 198 ABA accredited schools in the US
the vast majority of 170+ are enrolling at T20's--that's the only way they keep a 170 median lmao
HopefullyInLawSchool
12:44
just claim what you want in life in applications and then it can change in law school as ur exposed to stuff
@babycat: I don't think so, assuming that you have a cohesive why law and actually did stuff in undergrad. I mean ofc your application will always be stronger given work experience, but I don't think KJD status on its own "hurts" your application.
12:45
best thing you can do as a sub 3 is clear Wash U's median and go there, which I'm going to try to do in January if I don't hear from UGA before the deadline to sign up (Dec 3)
babycat
12:45
I'm just saying this as a hypothetical. people say urm boost is the equivalent of x LSAT point increase. was just wondering if there was an equivalent kJD decrease
I think you guys think about yourselves too much. All you can do is put together a well rounded application and simply wait!
@EvolBunny: I think you just proved yourself wrong lmao. It is showing 50 percent of people with those stats getting into WashU.
"@JumpySubsequentDolphin: you know schools that are like 350th ranked have people with 170+ lsats, right? GPA and all that does play a role and bruce is likely not getting what he wants"
WorthlessAttractiveZombie
12:46
I’m gonna drink a bottle of Jack for every rejection
babycat
12:47
call me curious George the way I be asking questions
babycat
12:47
actually the opposite of thinking about myself I just want to see what other people think
12:48
@texaslawhopefully: is washu the entire t20? Or notorious for letting applicants redact gpa or lsat? Like okay i guess washu, what about the rest? Buddy literally said he is a nothing candidate except high lsat. No EC, WE, minority status, right skin color, military, in state, etc. That means he will be fucked by the t20, except maybe washu
12:49
I also never said I only wanted to go to a T20
@EvolBunny: You're stupid af. Did you read what he said. He said fucking WashU.
And, yes, most people with a 170+ will go to the T20 because at the very least since the T20 pretty much all has a 170+ LSAT median they need at least 3k people a year with a 170+ to maintain those medians (given about 6k people enroll in the T20).
And there's only 4k people a year with a 170+.
BulbasaurNoLikeCardio
12:50
@babycat: That KJD question is a legit one, I wonder if there is enough data out there to show it as there is data that makes people think URM is a point boost
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