Capital Punishment: The One Vote Justice Stevens Would Have Changed

Justice Stevens says he only regrets vote to uphold death penalty
Former Supreme Court j ustice John Paul Stevens , who was not on the bench this morning for the new term for the first time in 35 years, says the only vote he would change from all his years on the High Court was the one to uphold the death penalty. In a wide-ranging interview with NPR's Nina Totenberg, the 90-year-old Stevens says he thought at the time that the universe of defendants eligible for Capital Punishment was so narrow that "you can be confident that the death penalty was...

Justice Stevens, Capital Punishment, and Path Dependence
that upheld the death penalty as reconstituted by Georgia and other states to require states to narrow the category of execution-worthy defendants using aggravating and mitigating factors.   In the interview with Totenberg, Stevens says that he expected that the sorts of factors upheld in Gregg would mean that only the worst of the worst would be executed, so that a death sentence would not be the sort of random Lightning Strike that Furman condemned.  But, Stevens goes on to...

Justice Stevens: An Open Mind On A Changed Court
The U.S. Supreme Court opens its new term Monday, with new Justice Elena Kagan sitting in the junior justice's seat at the far end of the bench. For the First time in its history, a third of the nine-member Court is female, and all of its justices are either Catholic or Jewish — no Protestants. Also, for the First time in 35 years, Justice John Paul Stevens is not there. The 90-year-old justice retired in June; this summer, he sat for an interview in his chambers. During a lengthy and...

Illinois death penalty gains traction as Bill Brady surges, voters approve
(Chicago, IL) October 4, 2010 . With a growing likelihood that Illinois GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Brady , a death penalty proponent who favors lifting the existing Moratorium, will win the November General Election over rival Governor Pat Quinn and that a recent poll shows that a majority of Illinois voters favor of maintaining Capital Punishment, the issue has been thrust into the electoral scrum. Jeremy Schroeder , Executive Director of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the...

After Supreme Court, Stevens looks back -- and forward
WASHINGTON — As the Supreme Court opens its annual term today, one of its longest-serving members will be absent from the bench for the first time in nearly 35 years. Justice John Paul Stevens — the longtime leader of the Court's liberal wing — has retired, and new Justice Elena Kagan takes his place today. Yet Stevens is as willing to challenge the Court's Conservatives in Retirement as he was on the bench, while still showing affection for his former colleagues. PHOTOS:...

Christine O'Donnell: China has "Plan to Take Over America"
(Credit: Getty Images News/Mark Wilson ) Delaware GOP Senate Candidate Christine O'Donnell said during a 2006 debate that China had a "carefully thought out and strategic plan to take over America," the Associated Press reports. She added that she had classified information to support her claim. When one of O'Donnell's Republican opponents suggested during the Primary debate that the U.S. and China should be allies because of their economic interdependency, according to the AP, O'Donnell...

54% in Illinois Say No To Abolishing Death Penalty
Most Illinois Voters (54%) are against abolishing the death penalty in their state, according to a new Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters. One-in-three Illinois Voters (32%) is in favor of abolishing the death penalty, however. Another 15% are Undecided. On the national level, 62% of Americans favor the death penalty , while 26% are opposed to it. In 2000, then-Governor George Ryan issued a Moratorium on executions in Illinois to prevent the possibility of innocent...

Triple murder case yields convictions
A former parolee was convicted of Capital Crimes on Tuesday for his involvement in nighttime Home Invasion in Cheshire, Conn., three years ago. Stephen J. Hayes was convicted of 16 of the 17 Crimes. He was acquitted of the Arson charge. Testimony showed that Hayes and a friend he had made at a Connecticut halfway house for parolees, Joshua Komisarjevsky, entered the Petit house, beat and restrained the father, Dr. William A. Petit Jr., and raped and strangled of the mother, Jennifer...

Michael White's Conference Daily: Law and order
Index Michael White's Conference Daily: Law and order; crime and the Conservatives Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke vowed to introduce a pragmatic reform of the penal system, as Theresa May announced new powers for police accountability. So where do the Tories stand on law and order? Michael White reports Law and order Debates at Conservative conferences once brought forth a crowd of Activists demanding a return to Capital Punishment. No more, it appears. Michael White reports from...

Deliberations May Begin Monday In Cheshire Invasion Trial
NEW HAVEN, CT (CBS 2) — A Connecticut jury may begin deliberations Monday afternoon in the Home Invasion trial of Steven Hayes. Hayes and an accomplice were charged with killing Dr. William Petit’s wife and two daughters and burning down the family Home in Cheshire back in 2007. They were also facing Rape charges. Petit was beaten and tied-up in the basement, but escaped. Hayes could face the death penalty if convicted. His co-defendant was scheduled for trial next year.

Petit Family Murderer Found Guilty on 16 Out of 17 Crimes
The New York Times reports that Steven J. Hayes has been convicted of 16 of the 17 Crimes that were brought on by the killer who invaded a home in Connecticut and murdered a wife and two daughters. Only taking the jury less than one full day to deliberate, Hayes, who has a long history as a petty criminal, was convicted of the Capital Crimes that make him eligible for the death penalty. The same jury will now embark upon another trial to determine whether or not Hayes will get the death...

No, the Supreme Court is not 'pro-business', contrary to Dahlia Lithwick's claim
Slate s Dahlia Lithwick has falsely claimed that in the Supreme Court, Big Business always prevails, Environmentalists are always buried, female and elderly workers go unprotected, death row inmates get the needle, and criminal defendants are shown thedoor. That false claim is utterly inconsistent with reality. Over the last dozen years, the death penalty has been dramatically cut back in cases like Roper v. Simmons (2005), as the Supreme Court has invalidated the death penalty...

Supreme Court Starts New Term With Key First Amendment Cases on the Docket
Monday, October 04, 2010 By Staff, Associated Press Elena Kagan is applauded during a ceremony with President Barack Obama to mark her confirmation to become the next Supreme Court Justice, in the East Room of the White House on Aug. 6, 2010. (AP File Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Washington (AP) - The Supreme Court is starting its new Term with a new Justice, Elena Kagan, and bad news for hundreds of parties trying to get their cases heard at the nation's highest Court. The Justices are...

Supreme Court term has free-speech and immigration cases
Washington (Reuters) - The Supreme Court will consider important cases on Anti-gay Protests at Military Funerals, violent Video Games and Immigration Law during its new term that begins on Monday. The nine-member High Court will open its 2010-11 term with a new member on the bench, Justice Elena Kagan, who was appointed by President Barack Obama. Kagan succeeded Justice John Paul Stevens, who retired in June. She probably will not change the Court's balance of power, which is widely seen as...

The Evil Magick of Chief Justice John Roberts
Writing at Slate , legal commentator Dahlia Lithwick and New York University Law Professor Barry Friedman argue that under the stewardship of its boyish Chief Justice, John Roberts, the [Supreme Court] has taken the Law for a sharp turn to the ideological right, while at the same time masterfully concealing it. Their article is titled Watch as We Make This Law Disappear , and Lithwick and Friedman milk the image of Chief Justice Roberts as a master illusionist for all its worth...

Why do the Obots pile on Clinton?
It happens all of the time. Obama does something feeble in terms of Domestic Policy or extends the Unitary Executive theory to assassinating Americans who should be tried first and while the comment threads fill up with anger some idiot steps in and says something like, “Yeah, but Bill Clinton was a Republican and a DLC leader and he was a Baaaaaad Dude and we don’t like him.” And I think, where the Hell did THAT come from? No president is perfect. I don’t expect...

Elena Kagan begins work as Supreme Court justice
Reporting from Washington — As dramatic as the conflict over Elena Kagan 's nomination to the Supreme Court was this summer, her first day on the bench was mundane. The newly minted Justice Kagan joined her eight colleagues to hear the first oral argument of the term Monday, a case involving the Rights of a debtor under Bankruptcy Law. The Pedestrian issue was a Far cry from the questions of constitutional interpretation that marked her rancorous Confirmation Hearing. Before a packed...

FLASHBACK: On October 4, 2010, Elena Kagan Will Ask Her First Question As A Supreme Court Justice
Justice Stevens keeps his own counsel, but the signals he has sent are unchanged and grow more significant as they accumulate and as time passes. The White House has long known since before Justice Sotomayor was confirmed that there was a significant chance Justice Stevens would retire this year. Some of the signals are inaction he has made no move to hire additional clerks, which he logically would have done if he had decided to remain on the Court. Other, more subtle...

"Leahy's Supreme Tie-Breakers"
What could possibly go wrong ? The Supreme Court begins its new term this morning, amid front-page media lamentations that the Justices have become too partisan under Chief Justice John Roberts. This is best understood as not-very-subtle lobbying of Justice Anthony Kennedy, the most frequent Swing Vote on what has been a largely Centrist Court. But never fear, Pat Leahy has an idea to create a liberal majority anywayat least on some cases. The Senate Judiciary Chairman wants Congress to...

On first day, Kagan fills chamber with queries, comments
Washington — Justice Elena Kagan threw herself into her new job Monday with an aggressive performance during the Supreme Court's inaugural oral argument of the 2010 term. During the first hour of her judicial debut, Kagan asked infinitely more questions than Justice Clarence Thomas did during all of last year. If first impressions hold true, the former Harvard Law School dean will be one of the Court's most active and engaged members. "Let's stay with this," Kagan...

New high court era: Kagan makes 3 women on bench (AP)
Washington – The Supreme Court began a new era Monday with three women serving together for the first time, Elena Kagan taking her place at the end of the bench and quickly joining in the give-and-take. In a scene that will repeat itself over the next few months, Kagan left the courtroom while the other Justices remained to hear a case in which she will take no part. She has taken herself out of 24 pending cases, including the second of the two argued Monday, because of her work as the...

New Supreme Court term opens with new justice
Washington — The Supreme Court is starting its new Term with a new Justice, Elena Kagan, and bad news for hundreds of parties trying to get their cases heard at the nation's highest Court. The Justices are expected to start work Monday by denying many of the nearly 2,000 appeals that piled up in recent months. The Court also is hearing argument in a Bankruptcy dispute and an appeal by criminal defendants seeking shorter Prison Terms. During the new Term, the Court will look at...

Hotline Spotlight: First Monday In October
Rookie Justice Elena Kagan and her 8 colleagues begin the Supreme Court's '10 term facing a raft of social issue questions that could determine the potency -- or impotence -- of Pres. Obama 's entire agenda. -- The Court will rule on an Extremist church's Protests outside Military funerals, which will dominate headlines. But watch the cases that will be a part of the national debate in future election cycles -- and we're not even talking about California's Prop. 8, which is all but...

The Biggest Question About Elena Kagan
Steve Petteway, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States Retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Elena Kagan in the Justices' Conference Room prior to Justice Kagan's Investiture, Friday, Oct. 1, 2010, at the Court in Washington. Today marks the first day on the bench for Justice Elena Kagan , the Supreme Court s junior justice. Kagan replaces Justice John Paul Stevens , who was one of the longest-serving justices...

The Roberts Court, Version 4.0
Linda Greenhouse on the Supreme Court and the Law. Tags: Elena Kagan , John G. Roberts Jr. , Supreme Court New Haven When the Supreme Court begins its new Term Monday morning, the fact that there are three women on the bench, thanks to the arrival of Justice Elena Kagan, will receive the most attention. But another fact about this First Monday in October should not go unnoticed. The three women and the six men who will emerge along with them from behind the courtrooms velvet curtain at...