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U.S. Supreme Court ‘Death Caucus’ Setting Death Penalty Litigation Tone
by Kevin Bliss
The conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court has been taking a hard stance against last-minute filings, effectively intimidating already-scarce death penalty attorneys. This could lead state and federal judges to give “short shrift” to death penalty appeals, The Atlantic reports.
The Court has …
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More from this issue:
- News in Brief
- National Fingerprint Database Frees Man After 36 Years, by Jayson Hawkins
- Seventh Circuit Holds Indiana Pointing a Firearm and Intimidation Convictions No Longer Qualify Under ACCA After Johnson, by Pat O'Connell
- Asset Forfeiture Not So Helpful to Crime-Fighting, by Edward Lyon
- New York Court of Appeals Overturns Murder Conviction, Finds Prosecutor Withheld Critical Video Evidence in Violation of Brady Obligations, by Dale Chappell
- Tennessee Supreme Court Reverses Conviction Because Trial Court Refused to Give ‘Necessity’ Jury Instruction Because Defendant Never Testified About Mental State, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Denial of Safety-Valve Relief, by Douglas Ankney
- Georgia Supreme Court Announces Fundamental Overhaul of Jurisprudence Governing Appeals of Guilty Pleas and Out-of-Time Appeals, by Douglas Ankney
- California Court of Appeal: Equal Protection Requires Pretrial Detainees on Home Confinement Be Eligible for Good Conduct Credits, by Douglas Ankney
- U.S. Supreme Court ‘Death Caucus’ Setting Death Penalty Litigation Tone, by Kevin Bliss
- Georgia Supreme Court: Warrantless Search of Vehicle’s Airbag Control Module is Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit Vacates Sentence Because Sentencing Judge Should Have Recused Himself Due to Ex Parte Communications with U.S. Attorney’s Office, by Douglas Ankney
- Santa Didn’t Create Naughty Cops List, But It’s Worth Checking Twice, by Douglas Ankney
- Nevada Supreme Court: Trial Court Must Give Manslaughter Instruction Even When Evidence Is Circumstantial, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit Reaffirms Sex Trafficking and Kidnapping Are not Violent Felonies for 924(c) After Davis, by Dale Chappell
- Supreme Court of Hawai’i Rules Presenting Falsified Polygraph Results Is Coercive Per Se, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit Holds Career Offender Status Does not Bar Retroactive FSA Relief Under First Step Act, by Dale Chappell
- Using Algorithms to Erase Pot Convictions in California, by Douglas Ankney
- Colorado Supreme Court Announces Clarifications and Modifications to Proportionality Review Standard as Applied to Habitual-Offender Sentences, by Douglas Ankney
- Costly Electronic Monitoring Programs Replacing Ineffective Jail Bond Systems, by Kevin Bliss
- NJ Supreme Court: Confession not Voluntary Where Police Tell Suspect Truth Would Set Him Free, Promise Him Counseling Instead of Jail, and Minimize Seriousness of Offenses, by Douglas Ankney
- Eleventh Circuit: Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Robbery not a Crime of Violence Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief in Loss of GBMI Plea in Pennsylvania Court Due to IAC, Announces New Rule, by Dale Chappell
- Washington Supreme Court: Failure to Pay Fines Don’t Increase Sentencing Score, by Anthony Accurso
- Harmless Error: Explained, by Gabe Newland
- On Remand from Supreme Court, Eleventh Circuit Holds in Specific Circumstances an Ake Violation Constitutes Structural Error, by Douglas Ankney
- Refusing to Permit Attorney to Make Offer of Proof Is Abuse of Discretion, Says Indiana Supreme Court, by Douglas Ankney
- Police Use of Rapid DNA Machines Unregulated, by Jayson Hawkins
- Tenth Circuit Holds Davis Retroactive, Retaliation Against a Witness Not Crime of Violence Under § 924(c), by Dale Chappell
- Perils of Risk Assessment Tools in Criminal Justice, by Jayson Hawkins
- If It Saves More Than One Child, by Sandy Rozek
- U.S. District Court Holds Hobbs Act Robbery not Crime of Violence for § 924(c), Grants § 2255 Motion, by Dale Chappell
- From the Editors
- Fourth Circuit: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel in Death Penalty Case for Failure to Investigate Fetal Alcohol Syndrome as Mitigating Factor During Sentencing Phase, by Chad Marks
- Hawai’i Supreme Court Announces New Rule Requiring Both Judges and Juries to Consider Numerous Factors in Witness ID Cases, by Dale Chappell
- Insurance Companies Are Paying Cops To Investigate Their Own Customers, by Kendall Taggart
More from Kevin Bliss:
- After Florida Appellate Court Holds Crimes of ‘Attempt’ Eligible for Incentive Gain Time, Supreme Court Refuses Review, Jan. 15, 2025
- LGBTQ+ Detainees at Rikers Island Suffer Under Mayor Adams, Sept. 15, 2023
- Government Watchdog Adds BOP to List at “High Risk” of Mismanagement, Sept. 15, 2023
- At Massive and Corrupt Philippine Prison, Contraband Includes Jacuzzis and Horses, Sept. 15, 2023
- Second Circuit Affirms $600,000 Punitive Damage Award to New York Prisoner Brutally Beaten by Guards, Sept. 15, 2023
- Maryland Sheriff Charged with Illegally Procuring Machine Guns from ATF, Sept. 15, 2023
- Voting Rights Restoration for Virginia Ex-Felons Once Again Subject to Governor’s Whim, Sept. 15, 2023
- Prison Profiteer Who Chairs Christian Seminary Board Called Not Very ‘Christlike’, Aug. 15, 2023
- Menstruation Weaponized Against Women in Prison, Aug. 15, 2023
- Idaho Revives Firing Squads, Aug. 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- Florida Kills Two Prisoners on Same Day, Both Elderly, Sept. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Death Penalty, Death Row, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
- Alabama Barred from Executing Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia, July 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Eighth Amendment, Death Penalty, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Idaho Will Recruit Law Enforcement Volunteers for Firing Squad Executions, July 1, 2026. Death Penalty, Method of Execution.
- Texas Executes 600th Prisoner Since Reinstating Death Penalty in 1976, June 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Statistics/Trends, Death Penalty, Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability.
- Idaho Moves Closer to Firing Squad Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, State Legislation, Method of Execution, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
- Trump Approves Firing Squads for Federal Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, Domestic Violence, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Method of Execution, Hate Crimes.
- Texas Prisoner Declared Innocent 70 Years After Execution, March 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Death Penalty, False Confessions, Eyewitness Identification, Prosecutorial Misconduct.
- Dissenter Excoriates SCOTUS for Denying Certiorari in Challenge to Constitutionality of Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution, Feb. 1, 2026. Death Penalty, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Capital Punishment, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Method of Execution.
- 2025 Was a Deadly Year for Veterans Behind Bars, Jan. 1, 2026. Brain Injury, Death Penalty, Mental Health, Veterans, Mental Health Experts.
- Oklahoma Prisoner Found Unconscious in Cell Hours After Avoiding Execution, Dec. 1, 2025. Public Defenders, Pardons/Clemency, Life without Parole (LWOP), Death Penalty, Effective Assistance of Counsel.
