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Capital Defense Weekly 
Covering Capital Defense
Post Frequency: 17.8/day Last Entry: March 28, 2011 at 23:29:51 Recent Entries: 1052
By Karl R. Keys, Esq.
Go to Capital Defense Weekly, find other Criminal Law blogs, or browse all law blogs.
Running late
Posted on August 30, 2009Running late this week on the weekly, too much reading. Three fascinating cases are the prime reason: Michael Lee Wilson v. Workman & Donald Wackerly v. Workman, Nos. No. 06-5179, 07-7034 & 07-7056 (10th Cir 8/28/2009) (en banc) (dissent) The Circuit en banc holds in relation to whether or not an “adjudication on the merits” [...
LWOP around the country
Posted on August 28, 2009DPIC offers this interesting look at LWOP jury instructions state by state: In all states that use the death penalty, there are provisions for sentencing inmates to the alternative sentence of life without parole (LWOP). Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Simmons v...
Texas killed an innocent man?
Posted on August 26, 2009Cameron Todd Willingham was executed a ways back in Texas. The evidence strongly suggest it was an oopsie of an execution. The Chicago Tribune notes: In a withering critique, a nationally known fire scientist has told a state commission on forensics that Texas fire investigators had no basis to rule a deadly house fire was an [...
The lasting shadows
Posted on August 26, 2009And may it be said of us, both in dark passages and in bright days, in the words of Tennyson that my brothers quoted and loved, and that have special meaning for me now: I am a part of all that I have met Tho much is taken, much abides That which we are, we are ? One equal [...
Catching up
Posted on August 25, 2009I don’t recall when we last dd a roundup, so here’s nothing. Judge assigned to hear Troy Davis evidence; SSRN-Statewide Capital Punishment: The Case for Eliminating Counties’ Role in the Death Penalty by Adam Gershowitz; In Pennsylvania, Death sentence vacated for South Side killer; Rick Casey looks at refom at the Texas CCA in a snarkily entitled post My [...
weekly available
Posted on August 24, 2009This week’s edition is now available here. From the intro: By now everyone has an opinion of the Court’s order in In re Troy Davis, and the two opinions respecting that order (Justices Stevens & Scalia). Specifically, the Court ordered the petition “transferred” to the Southern District of Georgia to “receive testimony and make findings of [...
Texas: something’s missing
Posted on August 24, 2009The last execution in Texas was in early June. The next is scheduled for mid-September. Back of the cocktail napkin calculations suggest this is the longest period between executions, save for that related to the Baze lethal injection challenge, since the mid-nineties in Texas...
The price of justice?
Posted on August 24, 2009Maybe I’m old fashion, I believe in fair fights. No place requires a fair fight more than a trial, especially when a man’s life is on the line. DPIC lays out well the story of Khan Dinh Phan whose story appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution over the weekend...
An update on the trial of Judge Keller
Posted on August 19, 2009Judge Sharon Keller faces judicial misconduct charges after she refused to keep the Clerk’s office open to accept a last-minute appeal in a capital case, that of Michael Wayne Richard, where counsel sought to file after hours due to both computer problems and the grant of certiorari in another capital case the same day [...
Judge Keller’s trial
Posted on August 18, 2009Chuck Lindell is covering the Judge Sharon Keller trial over at his blog for the Austin-American Statesmen. We’ll check in Tuesday on the case.
Ohio Kills
Posted on August 18, 2009Ohio on Tuesday killed Jason Getsy. On Monday evening, the US Supreme Court rejected Getsy’s final appeal 5-4, with newly-confirmed Justice Sonia Sotomayor in the minority as she cast her first vote on the court in favor of delaying the execution...
The weekly is available.
Posted on August 17, 2009The weekly is available. From the intro: As the summer winds down, as often happens, the number of opinions in capital cases declines. Of note this week is the affirmance of a divided Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc in John Thompson v Connick. A jury below awarded $14 million to Mr...
Hearing ordered for Troy Davis
Posted on August 17, 2009via SCOTUSBLOG: he Supreme Court, over two Justices? dissents, on Monday ordered a federal judge in Georgia to consider and rule on the claim of innocence in the murder case against Troy Anthony Davis (In re Davis, 08-1443) The Court told the District Court to ?receive testimony and make findings of fact as to whether evidence [...
In re Troy Anthony Davis
Posted on August 17, 2009With keen initial reactions to the Court’s surprise 6-2 order for an evidentiary hearing on Troy Davis’s petition for an original writ of habeas corpus by Adam Liptak (here), Lyle Denniston, (here), and Orin Kerr (here), much of the essential reaction to the order has already been had...
off-topic: paying the price for Freedom
Posted on August 17, 2009A former local reporter was killed in Afghanistan late last week in the Marines. His story follows The story of USMC Sgt. William Cahir continues to reach larger audiences as the story of the late Marine was featured tonight on the MSNBC cable television network program “Hardball with Chris Matthews...
Another 5th Circuit odd-ball
Posted on August 12, 2009Danielle Simpson v. Quarterman, No. 07-70011 (unpublished), is the latest chapter in an ongoing saga about a death row inmate who is just average functioning enough not to be categorically barred from execution. The Fifth Circuit originally remanded Mr...
Action in the Fifth Circuit
Posted on August 11, 2009Three germane Fifth Circuit opinions already this week. In Cory Eugene Windland v. Quarterman, No. 06-10750, the panel concludes the district court erred in its calculation of whether the petition was filed within the one year requirement of of 28 U...
weekly’s up
Posted on August 10, 2009The weekly edition will is out and available here. From the intro Leading off this week’s is the revised opinion in Keith Thurmond v. Quarterman. Initially the Thurmond panel denied relief on a statutory bar as counsel purportedly attempted to timely file the federal habeas application but due to problems with court equipment filed one day [...
NC RJA to become law Tuesday
Posted on August 10, 2009via PFADP: NC Gov. Bev Perdue is looking forward to signing the NC Racial Justice Act into law and you are invited to witness this historic triumph. The signing was arranged late this afternoon and is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday, August 11 at the NC State Capitol (1 E...
John Allen Muhammad denied by the Fourth Circuit
Posted on August 07, 2009The Fourth Circuit has denied habeas relief to John Allen Muhammad. Quite disturbing is the 30,000 pages of evidence the Commonwealth suppressed. In rather blunt language the panel writes: Let it be clear that we by no means condone the actions of the Commonwealth in this case...
RJA passes in NC
Posted on August 05, 2009via AP: North Carolina’s General Assembly has made the state the second in the country to allow attorneys to use statistical data to try and show racial bias was behind the decision of prosecutors to seek or jurors to impose the death penalty. The Senate voted 25-18 on Tuesday for a measure the NAACP and other advocates [...
HAT’s persuasion institute still has seats available
Posted on August 05, 2009HAT’s incredible “Persuasion Institute” purportedly still has seats available. via Hat: [more after the jump] Persuasion Institute: Advanced Training Workshop in Narrative Construction For Postconviction Litigators **Participation is limited to 35 attendees maximum...
experiments in abolition: NJ
Posted on August 05, 2009New Jersey has seen a remarkable drop in murders since repeal of the death penalty. Over the 18 months since repeal murder is down almost 10%, this despite a deep economic recession, with every month this year seeing a lower number of murders than the preceding year...
weekly available
Posted on August 03, 2009from this week’s edition: Leading off this week is the South Dakota Supreme Court’s opinion in Briley Piper v. Weber. Mr. Piper was tried to the bench in the penalty phase. Prior to the bench trial the trial court misinformed Mr. Piper about South Dakota’s unanimity requirement...
international: a dying punishment
Posted on August 03, 2009Two stories indicate why, despite a slight rise in executions domestically, the death penalty is slowing dying. In Kenya this new AP article, headlined “Kenyan leader reduces all death sentences to life,” details the commutation of all death sentences in that country...
errata
Posted on August 03, 2009The correct links for the California Supreme Court’s decisions in this week’s edition are: P. v. Burney 7/30/09 SC S042323 [PDF] [DOC] P. v. Carrington 7/27/09 SC S043628 [PDF] [DOC]
Another Texas stay
Posted on July 22, 2009Dominating the news of the last few weeks has been a number of stays. Roderick Newton’s scheduled execution for Thursday has now also been stayed. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has granted a stay of execution to Roderick Newton.The stay is based on the withheld evidence and the possibility Newton could be mentally retarded, said [...
Relief in the First Sra
Posted on July 21, 2009The Delaware Supreme Court on Tuesday granted relief in James Cooke v. State, No. 289 & 324, 2007. The Court granted relief on the breakdown of the attorney-client relationship, counsel’s decisi0n to use a GBMI defense rather than a more traditional denial of guilt defense sought by the Accused, and the trial court’s failure to [...
Ohio kills
Posted on July 21, 2009via AP Ohio has executed a man convicted in a 1992 Christmas holiday killing spree that left six people dead and two wounded.Marvallous Keene died by lethal injection at 10:36 a.m. Tuesday at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, one week after the state’s last execution...
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My fiance's check is DD into a local credit union. Bank seems to have a pattern of "invisibly holding" charges from the debit card until just HOURS before his DD is processed (and this is after hours, of course). Over th
Have your fiance take the information you've collected and go into the bank...
what are the proper and legal steps to dissolve a partnership in an ongoing farm business?
I would say that the final tax forms are dispersed for that year with the indica...
It is my understanding that the 6th Amendment requires, that if you can't afford a lawyer in a criminal case, the Court must provide a lawyer in your defense at no charge to you. However, in a civil case no such protecti
That is not entirely true, even in the case of criminal cases. The court will pr...
Attorney welt, weinberg & reis co....from pittsburgh are collecting a credit card debt from capital one can they force me to send them a list of my assets for sheriffs sale
No! Only a Judge can make you do that and that is only after you have your day i...
I was called to give a deposition for the defense and the defendant is the person who stole our car, there is a chance that I will be called to satisfy at his trial. How can I get out of this, as my husband is to testify
If you were subpoenaed for the deposition you will need to appear or face prosec...
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