(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense
Find a Local Lawyer
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402
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.
that time of the week again
Posted on March 22, 2009from the intro of the weekly email edition Leading off the week is the repeal of New Mexico’s death penalty. Effective for crimes committed after July 1, 2009 New Mexico will no longer have a death penalty. As for those crimes committed before July 1st, there remains two men on death row New Mexico and at [...
Missing the literal deadline in Texas
Posted on March 22, 2009The Houston Chronicle Sunday examined nine cases where counsel missed the AEDPA one year statute of limitations & subsequently got their client killed or otherwise effectively waived habeas in a capital case. Three men on Texas? death row ? and six others already executed ? lost their federal appeals because attorneys failed to meet life-or-death deadlines, [...
Phillip Halford’s execution in Alabama was stayed
Posted on March 20, 2009Just a brief note to note that Phillip Halford’s execution in Alabama was stayed & the SCOTUS has refused to lift that stay, although that story appeared not to circulate. Wires note: An Alabama death row inmate who had been scheduled for lethal injection next week at Holman Prison won a U...
Nebraska legislative committee doesn’t advance lethal-injection bill
Posted on March 19, 2009via the wires: Disagreements between key lawmakers are blocking a bill to change Nebraska’s method of execution to lethal injection. The bill (LB36) from Speaker Mike Flood of Norfolk failed to advance in the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee on Wednesday...
no federal prosecution for Brian Nichols
Posted on March 19, 2009The feds have decided not to seek death for Brian Nichols or to otherwise try him.
An effective legislative round-up
Posted on March 17, 2009DPIC has an insightfull new run-down on new legislative developments: Many states are considering bills to abolish, reform, or expand the death penalty during current legislative sessions. Some recent developments include: New Mexico?s bill to abolish the death penalty passed the House and Senate and is awaiting Gov...
Sixth Circuit grant on use of experts in the guilt phase
Posted on March 16, 2009A panel of the Sixth Circuit in Abdul Awkal v. Mitchell, No. 01-4278, Monday granted relief. From that opinion: At trial, Awkal?s sole defense to the murder charges that he faced was that he was not guilty by reason of insanity. During the guilt phase of trial, Awkal?s counsel attempted to present the testimony of three [...
weekly email edition
Posted on March 15, 2009This this week’s email edition is now available. From the intro: A large number of favorable opinions are being reported this edition, including two missed last week and multiple Supreme Court justices commenting on the denial of cert in a Florida capital case...
NM Senate votes to repeal the death penalty
Posted on March 13, 2009via email: Just a few minutes ago, the New Mexico Senate passed the death penalty repeal measure, by a vote of 24 to 18. Upon being signed into law, capital offenders will be punished with life without parole. Congratulations to everyone in New Mexico and supporters everywhere who worked tirelessly to get the bill passed...
Fifth Circuit grants relief
Posted on March 12, 2009The Fifth Circuit has granted relief in Anthony Cardell Haynes v. Quarterman, No. 07-70004, on a Batson/Miller-El claim. In getting to the grant of relief the Haynes panel looks at appellate fact finding and deference under AEDPA (this is a must read for federal habeas types)...
All eyes on New Mexico?
Posted on March 12, 2009New Mexico’s Senate Friday takes up repeal of the death penalty, HB 825. Our good friends over at NCADP’s Blog are likely to have live posts or, for those who twitter, you can follow Abe’s tweets (and yes they are on fb).
In Utah a major legislative non-defeat
Posted on March 12, 2009I 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...
Cal Brown wins a stay
Posted on March 12, 2009Cal Brown will not be killed tonight as the Washington Supreme Court has unanimously stayed his death: The Washington Supreme Court has stayed the execution of condemned killer Cal Coburn Brown, issuing its decision less than eight hours before Brown was due to die...
forensic oversight failures
Posted on March 11, 2009Our good friends at the Innocence Project note here the failure of oversight at forensic labs: An 84-page report released today by the Innocence Project finds that the U.S. Department of Justice is failing to ensure that forensic negligence and misconduct are properly investigated...
Texas kills (again)
Posted on March 11, 2009via wire stories: Luis Salazar, 38, thanked friends and relatives for praying for him and asked to be forgiven for the “sins that I can remember” as the lethal drugs began taking effect. He was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m., nine minutes after the injection...
7th Circuit grant of relief
Posted on March 11, 2009The Seventh Circuit on Wednesday granted relief on whether or not the petitioner is mentally retarded. Howard A. Allen v. Buss, No. 07-2486O. A straightforward application of Atkins to the facts of this case entitles Allen to a hearing regarding whether he is mentally retarded and therefore categorically excluded from the death penalty...
Georgia kills
Posted on March 10, 2009via wire stories: Robert Newland, 65, was put to death by lethal injection at the state prison at Jackson and was pronounced dead at 7:35 p.m. by authorities. He was the first person executed in Georgia this year. Newland was convicted in 1987 and sentenced to death for the slaying of Carol Sanders Beatty, a 27-year-old former [...
Texas kills
Posted on March 10, 2009from the wires: “James, don’t leave me, you can’t die. Don’t leave me,” cried Marta Martinez after her son, James Edward Martinez, was injected with the lethal drugs. Officers brought a wheelchair into the room and removed her and her daughter before Martinez was pronounced dead at 6:17 p...
weekly email edition
Posted on March 09, 2009The weekly email edition is now available. From the intro: Leading off this edition is the Eleventh Circuit’s grant of relief in Earl J. McGahee v. Alabama Dept. of Corrections. The panel in McGahee holds “the total exclusion of African-Americans in this county in which they comprised fifty-five percent [...
Justices square on whether the length of incarceration on death row can be unduly “cruel”
Posted on March 09, 2009Justices Stevens, Thomas, and Breyer squared off Monday on the issue of whether 32 years on death row is unduly and unconstitutionally cruel in orders respecting the denial of cert in William Lee Thompson v. McNeil. Justice Thomas offers a pithy, superficially appealing argument, that because Thompson “could have accepted,” that is could drop appeals [...
Georgia Supreme Court on indigent defense
Posted on March 09, 2009Monday the Georgia Supreme Court handed down Georgia Public Defender Standard Council v. The State et al. No S09A0379. The Court addresses the obligation of the state’s indigent defender system to pay appointed counsel From the case summary: The Supreme Court of Georgia has unanimously upheld a Burke County judge?s order holding the Georgia Public Defender [...
NM: another hurdle cleared towards repeal
Posted on March 09, 2009via the wires: Legislation abolishing New Mexico’s death penalty has cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee ? its highest hurdle yet ? and is headed to the full Senate for a vote. It already has passed the House, so if it were approved by the Senate without change, it would go to the governor for his signature...
Another Texas court filing fiasco, this time federal
Posted on March 09, 2009File this one under “only in Texas.” On Monday the Fifth Circuit denied relief in Thurmond v. Quarterman. Relief was denied as counselled filed a habeas petition in his client’s case late, one day late in a death penalty case. The reason for the delay? Counsel apparently attempted to file an electronic version of Mr...
email edition
Posted on March 08, 2009The final rough of this week‘s email edition is now available which will be emailed out in the morning.
Publicizing bad eyewitness id
Posted on March 08, 2009via Standdown: Tonight on CBS News’ 60 Minutes There are two segments on tonight’s program dealing with eyewitness identification problems and reforms. It’s the leading cause of wrongful convictions caught through DNA exonerations. How Accurate Is Visual Memory? and Catching The Right Criminal are the two reports by Leslie Stahl...
The human costs of NM’s death row
Posted on March 06, 2009New Mexico’s sole death row survivor today published perhaps one of the strongest argument to date on why that state should repeal: AS THE ONLY living survivor of New Mexico’s death row, I would like to offer a few words in support of the bill to repeal the death penalty...
Previous | Next
Medical Malpractice: Your Case Is On The Trial Calendar-Can Defense Lawyers Talk to Your Doctor?
Your New York attorney has notified the Court that your case is re...
The Grave Risk of Harm Defense in Hague Child Abduction Cases
A major debate is under way as to the future of the “grave risk ...
Memo to Rick re Capital Punishment, the Constitution, and the Courts
In response to Rick's post this afternoon, let me say this: We mus...
Capital Punishment ... and the Courts
Rick often says that although he opposes capital punishment, he wa...
Self Defense
It's legal to defend yourself and your family
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...
#1 Online Legal Resource
On 08-25 at 15:46PM
Acute perpendicular parking #NYPD #NYFD
On 08-18 at 22:18PM
Parallel parking gone bad. Too much gas UES NYC
On 08-18 at 21:41PM
UES NYC
On 08-18 at 21:25PM
Twitter suspends journalist critical of broadcast partner's coverage on dubious grounds @guyadams #nbcfail #twitterfail
On 07-30 at 17:57PM
Model example of 1st Amendment suppression by the People of New York City's Michael Bloomberg #OWS #NYPD
On 07-12 at 21:07PM
AG Holder lackadaisical on Operation in our Sites domain name seizures & RIAA lobbied free speech suppression @dajaz1
On 06-08 at 22:44PM
Why is the Catholic Church going to court over Obama contraception policy? @NewYorker commentary
On 05-31 at 10:08AM
Monks sue Louisiana for right to sell caskets made from forrest destroyed by Katrina
On 05-31 at 07:47AM
Are the abortion ultrasound laws headed for the Supreme Court?
On 05-15 at 21:52PM
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...
 |
|
Contact Us | About Us | Celebrity Law Blog |
Our Partners | Disclaimer
| Law Blog Directory
| Law Jobs
| Law Tweets
| GoDaddy Hosting
All original material � 1999-2011 by USLaw.com. |