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Full-Text Articles in Law
No Execution If Four Justices Object, Eric M. Freedman
No Execution If Four Justices Object, Eric M. Freedman
Hofstra Law Review
Under longstanding Supreme Court practice, a certiorari petition is granted if four Justices vote to do so. But such success may be of little value if the petitioner is a capital prisoner whose litigation adversary, the government, has chosen to set an execution date. Five votes are needed to stay an execution. In capital cases under warrant, then, a prisoner may be executed notwithstanding the decision of the Court to review his or her case.
This sometimes-fatal anomaly has for more than 30 years been the subject of frictions among the Justices, critical commentary by the profession, and visible and …
Executing Equity: The Broad Judicial Discretion To Stay The Execution Of Death Sentences, Rebecca R. Sklar
Executing Equity: The Broad Judicial Discretion To Stay The Execution Of Death Sentences, Rebecca R. Sklar
Hofstra Law Review
No abstract provided.
Evolving Standards Of Decency: Advancing The Nature And Logic Of Capital Mitigation, Craig Haney
Evolving Standards Of Decency: Advancing The Nature And Logic Of Capital Mitigation, Craig Haney
Hofstra Law Review
This article appears in the Hofstra Law Review symposium issue on the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty cases.
The article builds on converging lines of research in the social sciences that have constructed a framework which conceptualizes the roots of violent behavior as extending beyond the personality or character structure of those people who perform it, connecting it historically to the brutalizing experiences they have commonly shared as well as the immediately precipitating situations in which their violence transpires.
The piece explains how to translate these insights into the collection and presentation of …
Using The Supplementary Guidelines For The Mitigation Function Of Defense Teams In Death Penalty Cases To Change The Picture In Post-Conviction, Mark E. Olive, Russell Stetler
Using The Supplementary Guidelines For The Mitigation Function Of Defense Teams In Death Penalty Cases To Change The Picture In Post-Conviction, Mark E. Olive, Russell Stetler
Hofstra Law Review
This article appears in the Hofstra Law Review symposium issue on the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty cases.
As the ABA's Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases reprinted in 31 Hofstra L. Rev. 913 (2003) detail, success in capital post-conviction proceedings will depend not just on the quality of the legal arguments counsel advance but, probably more critically, on counsel's skill at changing the picture that has previously been presented. The old facts and legal arguments - those which resulted in a conviction and imposition of …
Competent Capital Representation: The Necessity Of Knowing And Heeding What Jurors Tell Us About Mitigation, John H. Blume, Sheri Lynn Johnson, Scott E. Sundby
Competent Capital Representation: The Necessity Of Knowing And Heeding What Jurors Tell Us About Mitigation, John H. Blume, Sheri Lynn Johnson, Scott E. Sundby
Hofstra Law Review
This article appears in the Hofstra Law Review symposium issue on the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty cases.
Capital defense counsel have a duty at every stage of the case to take advantage of all appropriate opportunities to argue why death is not a suitable punishment for their particular client. But that duty can hardly be discharged effectively if the arguments are made in ignorance of available information concerning how persuasive they are likely to be to their audience.
Heeding that simple proposition we present lessons from the work of the Capital Jury …
Cultural Competency In Capital Mitigation, Scharlette Holdman, Christopher Seeds
Cultural Competency In Capital Mitigation, Scharlette Holdman, Christopher Seeds
Hofstra Law Review
Cultural factors so pervasively influence the interactions of the client with other people - including all of those with whom he comes into contact at significant times in his life (e.g. in educational, medical, and correctional institutions), those surrounding him in the community in which he develops, and, critically, the members of the defense team - that it is imperative for the defense team to have the talents necessary to conduct a mitigation investigation that is culturally competent. The investigation must recognize and surmount an array of barriers, overt and subtle, to obtaining information from people of variegated backgrounds. As …
The Importance Of Recognizing Trauma Throughout Capital Mitigation Investigations And Presentations, Kathleen Wayland
The Importance Of Recognizing Trauma Throughout Capital Mitigation Investigations And Presentations, Kathleen Wayland
Hofstra Law Review
This article appears in the Hofstra Law Review symposium issue on the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty cases.
A PhD. in psychology, the author formerly served on the faculty of Duke University Medical Center, where her primary emphasis was on traumatic stress syndromes and the psychological consequences of chronic exposure to interpersonal violence. For the last fifteen years she has been assisting capital defender organizations in integrating mental health themes into mitigation narratives. This article presents the current state of scientific knowledge about trauma, treating the subject from these dual perspectives.
The inevitable …
The Aba And The Supplementary Guidelines For The Mitigation Function Of Defense Teams In Death Penalty Cases, Robin M. Maher
The Aba And The Supplementary Guidelines For The Mitigation Function Of Defense Teams In Death Penalty Cases, Robin M. Maher
Hofstra Law Review
This article appears in the Hofstra Law Review symposium issue on the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty cases.
This article, whose author is the Director of the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project, places the Supplementary Guidelines in the context of the ABA's work in the death penalty field. The ABA does not oppose capital punishment but does favor justice. Hence the organization has long insisted that any jurisdiction desiring to retain execution as a criminal sanction provide high quality defense representation in accordance with the ABA's Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of …
When Life Depends On It: Supplementary Guidelines For The Mitigation Function Of Defense Teams In Death Penalty Cases, Sean D. O'Brien
When Life Depends On It: Supplementary Guidelines For The Mitigation Function Of Defense Teams In Death Penalty Cases, Sean D. O'Brien
Hofstra Law Review
The Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Capital Defense Teams are the culmination of three years of work coordinated by the Public Interest Litigation Clinic (PILC) and the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law in cooperation with seasoned capital litigators and mitigation specialists across the United States. This article describes the Supplementary Guidelines and the process by which they were researched and developed. Part I describes the Supplementary Guidelines and the process by which they were researched and developed. Part II describes the reasons for undertaking this project. Part III describes the process of investigating, researching and drafting …
A Former Alabama Appellate Judge's Perspective On The Mitigation Function In Capital Cases, William M. Bowen Jr.
A Former Alabama Appellate Judge's Perspective On The Mitigation Function In Capital Cases, William M. Bowen Jr.
Hofstra Law Review
This article appears in the Hofstra Law Review symposium issue on the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty cases.
The article, based on the author's eighteen years of service on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, explicates how the collection and presentation of mitigation evidence in accordance with the ABA's Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases reprinted in 31 Hofstra L. Rev. 913 (2003) and the Supplementary Guidelines that are the subject of this issue enable appellate courts to make reliable decisions in capital cases. Recounting his …
Getting It Right: Life History Investigation As The Foundation For A Reliable Mental Health Assessment, Richard G. Dudley Jr., Pamela Blume Leonard
Getting It Right: Life History Investigation As The Foundation For A Reliable Mental Health Assessment, Richard G. Dudley Jr., Pamela Blume Leonard
Hofstra Law Review
This article appears in the Hofstra Law Review symposium issue on the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty cases.
As the ABA's Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases reprinted in 31 Hofstra L. Rev. 913 (2003) and the Supplementary Guidelines that are the subject of this issue both emphasize, capital defense counsel must select appropriate non-legal team members and provide them with strategic direction. It is simply ineffective assistance for counsel to permit a mental health assessment of the client to occur before having made a reasoned …
Introduction: Re-Stating The Standard Of Practice For Death Penalty Counsel: The Supplementary Guidelines For The Mitigation Function Of Defense Teams In Death Penalty Cases, Eric M. Freedman
Hofstra Law Review
This is the Introduction to the Hofstra Law Review symposium issue on the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty cases, and summarizes its thirteen articles.
A central - indeed, arguably the central - duty of defense counsel in a capital case is to humanize the client in the eyes of those who will decide his fate. The daunting task of imagining, collecting, and presenting such mitigation evidence pervades counsel's responsibilities from themoment of detention on potentially capital charges to the instant of execution.
A truly multi-disciplinary team, with skills in eliciting and documenting sensitive …
Mitigation Abroad: Preparing A Successful Case For Life For The Foreign National Client, Gregory J. Kuykendall, Alicia Amezcua-Rodriguez, Mark Warren
Mitigation Abroad: Preparing A Successful Case For Life For The Foreign National Client, Gregory J. Kuykendall, Alicia Amezcua-Rodriguez, Mark Warren
Hofstra Law Review
Many capital defendants are foreign nationals; their representation both presents special challenges and offers special opportunities. In accordance with the ABA's Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases reprinted in 31 Hofstra L. Rev. 913 (2003) and the Supplementary Guidelines that are the subject of this issue, competent counsel must handle both effectively. Our article provides a detailed primer for accomplishing this.
A foreign country may acknowledge a person as a national on a basis that is not intuitively obvious to American counsel. If so, the person may be entitled to rights under both …
The Indispensable Role Of The Mitigation Specialist In A Capital Case: A View From The Federal Bench, Helen G. Berrigan
The Indispensable Role Of The Mitigation Specialist In A Capital Case: A View From The Federal Bench, Helen G. Berrigan
Hofstra Law Review
This article appears in the Hofstra Law Review symposium issue on the Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty cases.
Writing from the perspective of a federal trial judge, the author, who is Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, describes the crucial importance of mitigation development in the trial of a capital case in accordance with the ABA's Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases reprinted in 31 Hofstra L. Rev. 913 (2003) and the Supplementary Guidelines that are the subject …
The Chilling Effect That The Threat Of Sanctions Can Have On Effective Representation In Capital Cases, Richard P. Mauro
The Chilling Effect That The Threat Of Sanctions Can Have On Effective Representation In Capital Cases, Richard P. Mauro
Hofstra Law Review
No abstract provided.
A Grand Slam Of Professional Irresponsibility And Judicial Disregard, Stephen A. Saltzburg
A Grand Slam Of Professional Irresponsibility And Judicial Disregard, Stephen A. Saltzburg
Hofstra Law Review
Many examples of bad lawyering and indifferent judicial responses to bad lawyering concern those who seek to raise the standards of professional conduct and assure adequate legal representation for all clients. This article discusses one case (a death penalty prosecution of William Charles Payton for rape, murder and attempted murder in 1981) to illustrate just how poor the performance of lawyers can be and how largely indifferent judges often are to such performances. With the defendant's life on the line, it appears that none of the legally trained professionals at trial did what professional standards required of them. The prosecutor …
The Defense Team In Capital Cases, Jill Miller
The Defense Team In Capital Cases, Jill Miller
Hofstra Law Review
No abstract provided.
A New Profession For An Old Need: Why A Mitigation Specialist Must Be Included On The Capital Defense Team, Pamela Blume Leonard
A New Profession For An Old Need: Why A Mitigation Specialist Must Be Included On The Capital Defense Team, Pamela Blume Leonard
Hofstra Law Review
No abstract provided.
Jury Instructions Regarding Deadlock In Capital Sentencing, Laurie B. Berberich
Jury Instructions Regarding Deadlock In Capital Sentencing, Laurie B. Berberich
Hofstra Law Review
No abstract provided.
Probing "Life Qualification" Through Expanded Voir Dire, John H. Blume, Sheri Lynn Johnson, A. Brian Threlkeld
Probing "Life Qualification" Through Expanded Voir Dire, John H. Blume, Sheri Lynn Johnson, A. Brian Threlkeld
Hofstra Law Review
No abstract provided.