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Supreme Court News Resources
Supreme Court News Stories Archive from 2010
- About
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- Court Declines to Take Case of Federal
Death Row Inmate With Mental Retardation
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear
the appeal of Bruce Webster, an inmate on
the federal death row with evidence that
he is intellectually disabed. ... In April,
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
ruled that Webster had exhausted his appeals
and his recent evidence of intellectual disability
could not be considered, even though it would
bar his execution if allowed in.
(12/13/10, DPIC Update)
- Court Considers Prosecutorial Immunity
for Withholding Evidence in Death Penalty
Case
On October 6, the U.S. Supreme Court heard
arguments in Connick v. Thompson. John Thompson,
who was released from death row in 2003 after
newly discovered evidence undermined his
murder conviction, sued the New Orleans District
Attorney’s office for failing to train
its attorneys about their legal obligation
to turn over evidence that could help defendants
prove their innocence.
(10/11/10, DPIC Update)
- Retired Supreme Court Justice Regrets
1976 Vote Upholding the Death Penalty
In a recent interview on NPR, newly-retired
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens
said he particularly regretted one vote
during his 35 years on the high court--his
1976 vote to uphold the death penalty in
Gregg v. Georgia. (10/11/10, DPIC Update)
- Arguments Set in Three Death Penalty
Cases in the Coming Term
The U.S. Supreme Court has set oral-argument
dates in three death penalty-related cases
for the upcoming 2010-2011 term. The Court
begins its new term on Monday, October
4. On October 6, the Court will hear Connick
v. Thompson. This case challenges an award
of $14 million to John Thompson, who had
been sentenced to death in New Orleans
but was later acquitted of all charges.
... On October 13, the Court will hear
Skinner v. Switzer to determine whether
a Texas death row inmate's (Hank Skinner)
request for DNA testing can be considered
as a civil rights claim rather than as
part of his death penalty appeal. ... Finally,
on November 9, the high court will hear
Cullen v. Pinholster, reviewing a Ninth
Circuit decision overturning Pinholster's
death sentence because of ineffectiveness
of counsel. (9/14/10, DPIC Update)
- Supreme Court Directs Lower Court to
Accept Late Appeals Under Extraordinary
Circumstances
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of
Albert Holland, who lost his right to file
a federal appeal of his death sentence when
his lawyer missed the 1-year deadline established
under the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective
Death Penalty Act (AEDPA). The U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled
that his attorney's conduct in missing the
deadline was not egregious enough to warrant
setting aside the imposed deadline. The appeals
court said that the attorney would have had
to act with "bad faith, dishonesty,
divided loyalty, or mental impairment" to
be excused from the imposed deadline, and
that gross negligence was not enough of a
reason. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the
appeals court decision, saying that the appeals
court's standard was too rigid.
(6/21/10, DPIC Update)
- Supreme Court Agrees to Hear California
Death Penalty Case
The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari
in the California death penalty case of Cullen
v. Pinholster. In 1984, Scott Pinholster
was convicted of killing two men during a
burglary in Los Angeles. The U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned
Pinholster's death sentence because his lawyer
did not give the jury evidence of his mental
illness during the penalty phase of the trial.
The appeals court said that evidence might
have persuaded the jury to opt for a lesser
sentence. The Supreme Court will reconsider
the lower court's decision and decided whether
Pinholster's death sentence should be reinstated.
(6/21/10, DPIC Update)
- Supreme Court to Review Case of Texas
Death Row Inmate Who Wants DNA Testing
The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether
a Texas death row inmate should have access
to evidence for DNA testing that he says
could clear him of three murders. The justices
said Monday they will use the case of Hank
Skinner to decide whether prison inmates
may use a federal civil rights law to do
DNA testing that was not performed prior
to their conviction. (5/24/10, Los Angeles
Times)
- Stevens: Risk of Wrongful Sentences Higher
Modern pressures on the judicial system
have raised the chance a defendant could
be wrongly sentenced to death, Supreme
Court Justice John Paul Stevens said Wednesday,
explaining his changed view on the constitutionality
of capital punishment. "The risk of
an incorrect decision has increased," he
told an audience of hundreds of lawyers
and judges at a judicial conference here,
responding to a question about his 2008
assertion that the death penalty should
be abolished. He said that because of advances
in DNA testing, which have led to the freeing
of some innocent convicts, "we're
more aware of the risk than we might have
been before."
(5/6/10, USA Today)
- Supreme Court Reinstates Texas Death
Verdict
On February 22, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed
to hear, and then summarily reversed, a federal
appeals court decision that would have given
a Texas defendant a new trial based on improper
jury selection. The U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit had ruled that Anthony
Haynes should be retried or released because
a prospective juror was improperly excluded
based on the juror's race. (3/1/10, DPIC Update)
- Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence
Despite Unexplored Evidence of Mental Retardation
On January 20, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed
the death sentence for Holly Wood for the
1993 shooting of his former girlfriend in
Alabama, despite the fact that the attorney
working on the penalty phase of the case
failed to investigate or tell the jury about
Wood's borderline mental retardation.
(1/25/10, DPIC Update)
- Supreme
Court Underscores the Need for "Dignity
and Respect" in Capital Cases--Reverses
Judgment
On January 19, the U.S. Supreme Court granted
certiorari and reversed the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Wellons
v. Hall, ordering the lower court to re-examine
the appeal of Marcus Wellons, who received
the death penalty for a 1989 rape and murder
in Georgia. The Court's per curiam opinion
described "unusual events going on behind
the scenes" at Wellons' trial.
(1/25/10, DPIC Update)
- Justices
Reverse Smith v. Spisak
On January 12, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth
Circuit in Smith v. Spisak. ... In reversing
this decision, the Supreme Court held that
there was no "reasonable probability
that, but for counsel's unprofessional
errors, the result of the proceeding would
have been different."
(1/18/10, DPIC Update)
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