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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.
An email edition full of “interesting” news
Posted on June 29, 2008This week’s email edition will have at least ten “favorable” cases cited from June 16 to June 30, 2008, including, of course, a more in-depth analysis of the Court’s landmark decision in Kennedy.
Running a day late on the weekly
Posted on June 29, 2008A large number of favorable decisions means the weekly will run at least one day late. My apologies. The comedic relief from that edition is this: Comm. v. Larry Rush, No. 264 CAP, (PA 6/26/2008) “?Motion to Quash Frivolous Appeal Filed by No-Good-For-Nothing Court Appointed Lawyer ...
New rules in Texas
Posted on June 29, 2008The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has announced new rules of criminal procedure governing stays of execution. From those rules: 1. Time Requirements for Habeas Petitions or Other Motions. Inmates sentenced to death who seek a stay of execution or who wish to file a subsequent writ application or other motion seeking any affirmative relief from, [...
Favorable en banc decision from the Fifth Circuit
Posted on June 26, 2008A true rarity the Fifth Circuit, en banc, on a successor orders further review in Eric Lynn Moore v Quarterman on whether Mr. Moore is mentally retarded within the meaning of Atkins.
Virginia kills
Posted on June 26, 2008Thursday night Virginia’s conducted its 100th execution in modern times when it killed Robert Stacy Yarbrough died by injection for the capital murder of Cyril H. Hamby.
TCCA grants a new trial in Ex parte Michael Blair
Posted on June 25, 2008The Texas Court Criminal Appeals granted a new trial in Ex parte Michael Blair. DNA strongly suggests Blair did not commit the murder for which he know sits on death row. Blair is also doing a life sentence for an unrelated crime so there is no chance he will be released.
Court decides Kennedy
Posted on June 25, 2008The opinion in Kennedy v. Louisiana (07-343), the child rape case, is available here. The case can be boiled down to this, “[a]s it relates to crimes against individuals, though, the death penalty should not be expanded to instances where the victim?s life was not taken...
The SCOTUS’s other major crimlaw decision
Posted on June 25, 2008For the average “vanilla” defendant in the criminal process Giles v. California is THE opinion of 6/25/2008. From TChris: The other Supreme Court decision of interest today to criminal law junkies is Giles v. California (pdf). The issue is whether a defendant forfeits his right under the Confrontation Clause “to confront a witness against him when [...
Thursday teaching capital habeas in NYC
Posted on June 25, 2008On Thurdsay I’m teaching the “baby habeas” / “intro to habeas” at this year’s ABCNY death penalty training. My handout for resources is here. The links are to resources for litigators from those who have never handled a habeas case to resource materials for those who have handled dozens of them.
On this day…
Posted on June 24, 2008New York four years ago today invalidated much, if not all, of its death penalty law. From finding Dulcinea: On June 24, 2004, the New York Court of Appeals nullified the 1995 law that brought back the death penalty to New York state, criticizing a ?deadlock provision? in the law that violated the state?s constitution...
Pigs fly in the Fourth Circuit
Posted on June 24, 2008The Fourth Circuit today granted penalty phase releif in William Robert Gray, Jr. v. Branker. “[C]ounsel ignored [ ] red flags and failed to investigate for mental health evidence or consider introducing evidence on that issue,” whether the Commonwealth of Virginia should take his life...
Ninth Circuit rules in Duncan: Relief granted
Posted on June 24, 2008As one could predict with an opinin that begins “[o]nce again, we consider whether a capital defendant?s appointed lawyer?s performance was so deficient and prejudicial that it violated his Sixth Amendment right to counsel” the Ninth Circuit in Duncan v...
The Onion & Baze
Posted on June 24, 2008Under the category NSFW, off color, in bad taste, and definitely not for the easily offended, the Onion takes on Baze & lethal injection: Supreme Court Rules Death Penalty Is ‘Totally Badass’
email edition
Posted on June 23, 2008The email edition is available here Leading off this edition is what some have called the “stay wars.” The United States Supreme Court this past Thursday in Indiana v. Ahmad Edwards, held that where the mentally ill (but competent) seek to represent themselves at trial a State may require that they instead are represented by counsel...
SCOTUS takes capital cases
Posted on June 23, 2008The Supreme Court has granted cert in two cases of interest. From the SCOTUSBlog: Docket: 07-1114 Case name: Cone v. Bell Issue: Whether a federal habeas claim is ?procedurally defaulted? because it has been presented twice to the state courts, and whether a federal habeas court is powerless to recognize that a state court erred in holding that [...
Supreme Court wire
Posted on June 23, 2008I’m in court all week on hearings. The Supreme Court Wire is now up and to the right to cover all the latest decisions as they happen.
The impact of LWOP
Posted on June 23, 2008More evidence that LWOP dramatically curtails new death sentences. and even new prosecutions, comes from Ohio in this AP story & this Cleveland Plain Dealer chart.
Passing the hat for a good cause
Posted on June 23, 2008A few weeks ago Juan Quintero won a life verdict in Houston. Quintero, an illegal immigrant with a record who snuck back in to the country after being deported, killed Rodney Johnson , a cop, a well loved, well respected, a cop’s cop. The woman behind that verdict was Danalynn Recer of the Gulf [...
When executions go bad: the Delaware edition
Posted on June 23, 2008An interesting story out of Delaware on that state’s lethal injection litigation. Attorneys challenging that state’s protocol are claiming that Delaware’s last execution was, in fact, botched. Federal public defender Michael Wiseman argued that examining past practices can help determine whether Delaware is violating the constitutional rights of condemned inmates, even if the protocol itself is [...
South Carolina kills
Posted on June 21, 2008The Fourth Circuit lifted a stay that had earlier Friday night blocked the execution of James Earl Reed. South Carolina killed Reed shortly before the expiration of the execution warrant. Reed was convicted of murdering Joseph and Barbara Ann Lafayette in their Adams Run, South Carolina home in 1994...
South Carolina stay
Posted on June 20, 2008A stay was issued moments ago in tonight’s scheduled execution of James Earl Reed Prison officials say a federal court has halted the planned execution of a man scheduled to die in South Carolina’s electric chair. James Earl Reed was scheduled to be the first person electrocuted in South Carolina in more than four years...
Indiana v. Edwards & James Earl Reed
Posted on June 19, 2008The Supreme Court today decided Indiana v. Edwards on the right of self-representation for those who are competent enough to proceed to trial, wish to proceed pro se, but are so mentally encumbered as to make a trial, at best a meaningless affair, at worst a travesty...
Going bicoastal with losses
Posted on June 19, 2008Losses are noted Thursday in California and Florida in Jose Antonio Jimenez v. State, Perry Alexander Taylor v. State, and People v. Lanell Craig Harris. In People v. Lanell Craig Harris relief is denied, most notably, on certain “the omissions from the appellate record, the faulty instruction on the felony murder special circumstance, and [...
Execution dates update
Posted on June 19, 2008The execution dates to the left have been updated. My apologies for missing, until now, the “short date” in South Carolina for James Earl Reed for Friday night.
DNA ordered in Texas case of Darlie Routie
Posted on June 18, 2008Steve Hall proves why he is the go to guy for Texas DP issues in the blawgosphere yet again. leaving us, and all other sources, in his vapor trail: The Court of Criminal Appeals, in an opinion written by Judge Tom Price, has ordered DNA testing in a controversial Dallas County case, that of Darlie Routie...
Getting the basics right
Posted on June 18, 2008The Crim Prof blog looks at one of the most basic parts of the criminal justice system, evidence. In this case preserving evidence so that guilty can be punished and the innocent exonerated. Unfortunately, in this post, examples as why that basic function of the criminal justice system sometimes doesn’t happen...
Legal post-mortem
Posted on June 18, 2008The odd, truly odd, events relating to Charles Hood’s on - again -off-again- on - again execution date Tuesday night is among the oddest events in capital litigation in recent memory. Two must read pieces come from ethics blogs, the Legal Ethics Forum & the Legal Profession Blog (as someone who is petrified of effing [...
Removing an execution date from the list
Posted on June 18, 2008We’ve removed Darrell Robinson from the list of scheduled executions the listing appears to have been erroneous. Press reports of an execution date that CDW, Amnesty, & Dr. Rick Halperin were simply wrong. Kudos to DPIC for its conservation approach to such matter and not listing the date...
offtopic: street cred in the courtroom
Posted on June 18, 2008Ken Lammers asks a pretty pedestrian question that seems to baffle lawyers on my side of the aisle, why won’t the State dismiss/see it my way. The answer, of course, is credibility. A trialasaurus rex, a local bar legend, or a lawyer who just kicked a– in trial against the State has it, new [...
Hood execution date withdrawn
Posted on June 17, 2008A state judge in Texas has effectively withdrawn Charles Hood’s execution date. From Steve Hall: State District Judge Curt Henderson has just withdrawn Charles Hood’s execution date and has recused himself from any further proceedings in the case...
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It's legal to defend yourself and your family
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No! Only a Judge can make you do that and that is only after you have your day i...
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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...
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