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Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2019

Criminal Procedure

Adam M. Gershowitz

Capital Punishment

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Law

The Diffusion Of Responsibilty In Capital Clemency, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

The Diffusion Of Responsibilty In Capital Clemency, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

No abstract provided.


Statewide Capital Punishment: The Case For Eliminating Counties’ Role In The Death Penalty, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Statewide Capital Punishment: The Case For Eliminating Counties’ Role In The Death Penalty, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

No abstract provided.


Rethinking The Timing Of Capital Clemency, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Rethinking The Timing Of Capital Clemency, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

This Article reviews every capital clemency over the last four decades. It demonstrates that in the majority of cases, the reason for commutation was known at the conclusion of direct appeals—years or even decades before the habeas process ended. Yet when governors or pardon boards actually commuted the death sentences, they typically waited until the eve of execution, with only days or hours to spare. Leaving clemency until the last minute sometimes leads to many years of unnecessary state and federal habeas corpus litigation, and this Article documents nearly 300 years of wasted habeas corpus review. Additionally, last-minute commutations harm …


Pay Now, Execute Later: Why Counties Should Be Required To Post A Bond To Seek The Death Penalty, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Pay Now, Execute Later: Why Counties Should Be Required To Post A Bond To Seek The Death Penalty, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

No abstract provided.


Post-Trial Pleas Bargaining In Capital Cases: Using Conditional Commutations To Remove Weak Cases From Death Row, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Post-Trial Pleas Bargaining In Capital Cases: Using Conditional Commutations To Remove Weak Cases From Death Row, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

Plea bargaining accounts for over ninety percent of criminal convictions and it dominates the American criminal justice system. Yet, once a defendant is convicted, bargaining almost completely disappears from the system. Even though years of litigation are on the horizon, there is nearly no bargaining in the appellate and habeas corpus process. There are two reasons for this. First, prosecutors and courts typically lack the power to alter a sentence that has already been imposed. Second, even if prosecutors had the authority to negotiate following a conviction, they would have little incentive to do so. Affirmance rates in ordinary criminal …


Imposing A Cap On Capital Punishment, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Imposing A Cap On Capital Punishment, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

No abstract provided.


Judge's Ill-Timed Ruling Invites Irrationality In Public's Views About Capital Punishment, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Judge's Ill-Timed Ruling Invites Irrationality In Public's Views About Capital Punishment, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

No abstract provided.


Is Texas Tough On Crime But Soft On Criminal Procedure?, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Is Texas Tough On Crime But Soft On Criminal Procedure?, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

Although Texas is well known for imposing tough punishments on convicted defendants, it is surprisingly generous in affording criminal procedure protections. In a variety of areas, including search and seizure rules, confession requirements, the availability of bail, prosecutorial discovery obligations, and jury trial guarantees, Texas affords protections vastly in excess of what is required by the United States Constitution. Even more shocking, these criminal procedure guarantees come almost entirely from Texas statutes approved by the legislature, not activist rules imposed by judges. This Article explores Texas's reputation as a tough-on-crime state and the seeming inconsistency between Texas being tough on …


Get In The Game Or Get Out Of The Way: Fixing The Politics Of Death, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Get In The Game Or Get Out Of The Way: Fixing The Politics Of Death, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

No abstract provided.


Delaware's Capital Jury Selection: Inadequate Voir Dire And The Problem Of Automatic Death Penalty Jurors, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Delaware's Capital Jury Selection: Inadequate Voir Dire And The Problem Of Automatic Death Penalty Jurors, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

No abstract provided.


An Ntsb For Capital Punishment, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

An Ntsb For Capital Punishment, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

When a fatal traffic accident happens, we expect the local police and prosecutors to handle the investigation and criminal charges. When afatal airplane crash occurs, however, we turn instead to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The reason is that air crashes are complicated and the NTSB has vast expertise. Without that expertise, investigations falter. We need look no further than the mess made by Malaysian authorities in the search for Flight 370 to see the importance of expertise in handling complicated investigations and processes. It is easy to point to a similar series of mistakes by local prosecutors and …