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In Utah a major legislative non-defeat

By Karl R. Keys, Esq.

I would be feckless to call the action today by the Utah legislature a win, as clearly it is not it is a non-loss. The House killed a constitutional amendment Thursday that would have  said the Legislature gets to decide post-conviction appeals,  especially in death penalty cases. The bill was being pushed by Attorney General Mark Shurtleff but was  opposed by various groups, including some attorneys. It takes a two-thirds vote (50 in the House) to approve a  constitutional amendment. And HJR14 failed to get that, 38-35. Rep. Kay McIff, R-Richfield, a former state judge, said there was no  emergency to pass this controversial amendment, since it wouldn’t go  on the ballot for citizen approval until November 2010. He added that the amendment turns constitutional reasoning upside   down...continue to full post

Full post as published by Capital Defense Weekly on March 12, 2009 (boomark / email).