Legal Commentary on the Atkins v. Virginia Case
Given its significance, it is not surprising that Atkins v. Virginia generated considerable discussion in the legal community. Among the many articles published in the legal literature, some criticized and others praised the Supreme Court’s decision. Additional articles discussed the obstacles facing those states that needed to modify their laws in order to achieve compliance with the Court’s ruling. And finally, a number of legal scholars examined the possible implications of Atkins, particularly on how it would likely affect state laws that allowed the execution of juvenile offenders. Listed below is a sample of the legal commentary on Atkins.
Allen, Aletheia V. P. "State v. Flores: In the Wake of Atkins v. Virginia, New Mexico Tackles Capital Punishment for Defendants with Mental Disabilities," New Mexico Law Review, 35 (Summer 2005), 557-585.
Blume, John H., and Sheri Lynn Johnson. "Killing the Non-Willing: Atkins, the Volitionally Incapacitated, and the Death Penalty," South Carolina Law Review, 55 (Fall 2003), 93-143.
Bonnie, Richard J., and Katherine Gustafson. "The Challenge of Implementing Atkins v. Virginia: How Legislatures and Courts Can Promote Accurate Assessments and Adjudications of Mental Retardation in Death Penalty Cases," University of Richmond Law Review, 41 (May 2007), 811-860.
Brewer, Matthew C. "Constitutional Law: Broadening the Criteria for Defining Cruel and Unusual Punishment," Florida Law Review, 55 (April 2003), 731-741.
Broughton, J. Richard. "Off the Rails on a Crazy Train: The Structural Consequences of Atkins and Modern Death Penalty Jurisprudence," Widener Law Review, 11 (2004), 1-22.
Cardwell, Sarah. "Atkins v. Virginia: ‘[I]n the End Our Own Judgment Will be Brought to Bear . . .’," Baylor Law Review, 55 (Spring 2003), 829-862.
Cassel, Elaine. "Justice Deferred, Justice Denied: The Practical Effect of Atkins v. Virginia," Widener Law Review, 11 (2004), 51-58.
Chauvin, Christopher L. "Atkins v. Virginia: How Flawed Conclusions Convert Good Intentions into Bad Law," Louisiana Law Review, 65 (Fall 2004), 473-505.
Church, Lori M. "Mandating Dignity: The United States Supreme Court’s Extreme Departure from Precedent Regarding the Eighth Amendment and the Death Penalty," Washburn Law Journal, 42 (Winter 2003), 305-330.
Debbis, Matthew. "The Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause of the Eighth Amendment Prohibits the Execution of Mentally Retarded Defendants: Atkins v. Virginia," Duquesne Law Review, 41 (Summer 2003), 811-837.
DeGrandis, Michael P. "Atkins v. Virginia:Nothing Left of the Independent Legislative Power to Punish and Define Crime," George Mason Law Review, 11 (Summer 2003), 805-881.
Despotes, Anthony Michael. "Applying Atkins v. Virginia to Juvenile Defendants: The End is Near for the Constitutionality of Executing Juveniles," McGeorge Law Review, 34 (Summer 2003), 851-875.
Ellis, James W. "Disability Advocacy and the Death Penalty: The Road from Penry to Atkins," New Mexico Law Review, 33 (Spring 2003), 173-181.
Elmore, Kelly Christine. "Atkins v. Virginia: Death Penalty for the Mentally Retarded—Cruel and Unusual—The Crime, NOT the Punishment," DePaul Law Review, 53 (Spring 2004), 1285-1346.
Entzeroth, Lyn. "Constitutional Prohibition on the Execution of the Mentally Retarded Criminal Defendant," Tulsa Law Review, 38 (Winter 2002), 299-328.
Fagan, Jeffrey. "Atkins, Adolescence, and the Maturity Heuristic: Rationales for a Categorical Exemption for Juveniles from Capital Punishment," New Mexico Law Review, 33 (Spring 2003), 207-254.
Feld, Barry C. "Competence, Culpability, and Punishment: Implications of Atkins for Executing and Sentencing Adolescents," Hofstra Law Review, 32 (Winter 2003), 463-552.
Fisherow, Simon H. "Follow the Leader?: Japan Should Formally Abolish the Execution of the Mentally Retarded in the Wake of Atkins v. Virginia, " Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal, 14 (April 2005), 455-484.
Ghoshray, Saby. "Tracing the Moral Contours of the Evolving Standards of Decency: The Supreme Court’s Capital Punishment Jurisprudence Post-Roper," Journal of Catholic Legal Studies, 45 (2006), 561-629.
Hall, Joanna. "Atkins v. Virginia: National Consensus or Six Person Opinion?" American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy, & the Law, 12 (2004), 361-389.
Henshaw, Jaime L. "Atkins v. Virginia: The Court’s Failure to Recognize What Lies Beneath," University of Richmond Law Review, 37 (May 2003), 1185-1211.
Hobson, Charles. "Atkins v. Virginia, Federalism, and Judicial Review," Widener Law Review, 11 (2004), 23-50.
Hyllengren, Britta. "Capital Punishment of Mentally Retarded Defendants is Cruel and Unusual Under the Eighth Amendment," Suffolk University Law Review, 37 (2004), 239-245.
Izutsu, Laurie T. "Applying Atkins v. Virginia to Capital Defendants with Severe Mental Illness," Brooklyn Law Review, 70 (Spring 2005), 995-1043.
Kearns, Ashley M. "South Carolina’s Evolving Standards of Decency: Capital Child Rape Statute Provides a Reminder that Societal Progression Continues Through Action, not Idleness," South Carolina Law Review, 58 (Spring 2007), 509-531.
Keating, Micah. "Constitutional Law: Preserving Jury Determinations in an Eighth Amendment Analysis," Florida Law Review, 55 (April 2003), 743-751.
Kessler, Daniel B. "Atkins v. Virginia: Suggestions for the Accurate Diagnosis of Mental Retardation," Jurimetrics, 43 (Summer 2003), 415-426.
Knauss, Linda, and Joshua Kutinsky. "Into the Briar Patch: Ethical Dilemmas Facing Psychologists Following Atkins v. Virginia," Widener Law Review, 11 (2004), 121-135.
Libell, Mark. "In Atkins’ Wake: How the States Have Sunned Responsibility for the Mentally Retarded," Law and Psychology Review, 31 (Spring 2007), 155-165.
Malone, Linda A. "From Beard to Atkins to Malvo: Legal Incompetency and Human Rights Norms on the Fringes of the Death Penalty," William and Mary Bill of Rights Journal, 13 (December 2004), 363-416.
Meany, Kimberly A. "Atkins v. Virginia: The False Finding of a National Consensus and the Problems with Determining Who is Mentally Retarded," Widener Law Review, 11 (2004), 137-170.
Mossman, Douglas. "Atkins v Virginia: A Psychiatric Can of Worms," New Mexico Law Review, 33 (Spring 2003), 255-291.
Nickel, Daniel. "The Supreme Court’s Subjective Standards for Capital Punishment of the Mentally Retarded," Oklahoma Law Review, 56 (Winter 2003), 879-929.
Note. "Implementing Atkins," Harvard Law Review, 116 (June 2003), 2565-2587.
Odom, Lisa. "Jumping on the Bandwagon: The United States Supreme Court Prohibits the Execution of Mentally Retarded Persons in Atkins v. Virginia," Pepperdine Law Review, 31 (2004), 875-913.
Ongerth, Sharon. "Deference to the Majority: Why Isn’t the Supreme Court Applying the Reasoning of Atkins v. Virginia to Juveniles?" Loyola of Los Angles Law Review, 37 (Fall 2003), 483-514.
Ozimek, Mark Alan. "The Case for a More Workable Standard in Death Penalty Jurisprudence: Atkins v. Virginia and Categorical Exemptions Under the Imprudent ‘Evolving Standards of Decency’ Doctrine," University of Toledo Law Review, 34 (Spring 2003), 651-684.
Perlin, Michael L. " ‘Life is in Mirrors, Death Disappears’: Giving Life to Atkins," New Mexico Law Review, 33 (Spring 2003), 315-348.
Poe, Scott R. "Inconsistent Methods for the Adjudication of Alleged Mentally Retarded Individuals: A Comparison of Ohio’s and Georgia’s Post-Atkins Frameworks for Determining Mental Retardation," Cleveland State Law Review, 54 (2006), 405-433.
Raeker-Jordan, Susan M. "Parsing Personal Predilections: A Fresh Look at the Supreme Court’s Cruel and Unusual Death Penalty Jurisprudence," Maine Law Review, 58 (2006), 99-128.
Rapaport, Elizabeth. "Straight is the Gate: Capital Clemency in the United States from Gregg to Atkins," New Mexico Law Review, 33 (Spring 2003), 349-379.
Robinson, Tracy E. "By Popular Demand? The Supreme Court’s Use of Public Opinion Polls in Atkins v. Virginia," George Mason University Civil Rights Law Journal, 14 (Winter 2004), 107-144.
Romano, John F. "Kinder, Gentler, and More Capricious: The Death Penalty After Atkins v. Virginia," St. John’s Law Review, 77 (Winter 2003), 123-155.
Shannon, Sue Ann Gerald. "Atkins v. Virginia: Commutation for the Mentally Retarded," South Carolina Law Review, 54 (Spring 2003), 809-836.
Slobogin, Christopher. "What Atkins Could Mean for Mental Illness," New Mexico Law Review, 33 (Spring 2003), 293-314.
Steiker, Carol S. "Things Fall Apart, but the Center Holds: The Supreme Court and the Death Penalty," New York University Law Review, 77 (December 2002), 1475-1490.
Streib, Victor L. "Adolescence, Mental Retardation and the Death Penalty: The Siren Call of Atkins v. Virginia," New Mexico Law Review, 33 (Spring 2003), 183-206.
Tarbell, Christopher Scott. "Implementing Atkins: The Strengths and Weaknesses of In Re Hawthorne," Hastings Law Journal, 56 (June 2005), 1249-1275.
van Dulmen-Krantz, Jennifer. "The Changing Face of the Death Penalty in America: Atkins v. Virginia and Policy Considerations for States Reacting to the Supreme Court’s Eighth Amendment Interpretation," Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy, 24 (Fall 2002), 185-223.
Velasquez, Eli. "The Shaping of an American Consensus Against Execution of Mentally Retarded Criminals: A Case Note on Atkins v. Virginia," Whittier Law Review, 24 (Summer 2003), 955-983.
Weeks, Robin M. A. "Comparing Children to the Mentally Retarded: How the Decision in Atkins v. Virginia Will Affect the Execution of Juvenile Offenders," BYU Journal of Public Law, 17 (2003), 451-485.