United States v. Michael Edward Kennedy

Defendant Kennedy brings this emergency appeal from the District Court’s order denying him bail. He argues that the District Court improperly applied the provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 3148 , which controls the granting of bail in cases in which the defendant “is charged with an offense punishable by death.” Kennedy is charged with offenses that under existing statutory language are “punishable by death,” but Kennedy points out that Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 , 92 S.Ct. 2726 , 33 L.Ed.2d 346 (1972), forbade the imposition of the death penalty under such statutes. He therefore argues that the District Court should have applied the standards of § 3146, which governs release of those charged with an offense “other than an offense punishable by death.”

Furman , however, rendered unconstitutional only the penalties that could be exacted under certain statutes. It did not necessarily have the effect of invalidating all statutes that were tied to the concept of a “capital” case. If the statute’s purpose derives from the nature of the offense with which the defendant is charged and not from the potential severity of the punishment, it remains in effect. United States v. Watson, 496 F.2d…