CJLF PRESS RELEASES
FEDERAL COURT REJECTS SUSPECTED TERRORIST’S SPEEDY TRIAL CLAIM
July 13, 2010:
District Judge Lewis Kaplan has denied a former Guantanamo Bay detainee’s claim—that his detention as an enemy combatant deprived him of his right to a speedy trial—
making him eligible to face trial for bombings of two U. S. embassies.
LEGAL GROUP ASKS GOVERNOR TO RESUME EXECUTIONS
June 16, 2010:
The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation has urged Governor Schwarzenegger and the
Secretary of California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to
resume executions under authority provided by state law.
HIGH COURT PARES BACK MIRANDA
June 1, 2010:
The U. S. Supreme Court has rejected a murderer’s claim that his confession should not have been introduced at trial because police had violated his Miranda rights. In Berghuis v. Thompkins the suspect’s initial silence during questioning by police was interpreted (by the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals) as a decision to invoke his right not to talk to police, even though he eventually did answer questions later in the interview. “The Supreme Court recognized the practical realities that the police face in dealing with suspects,” said Scheidegger.
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ADDS TO DEATH PENALTY DELAYS
May 26, 2010:
The U. S. Department of Justice announced further delay in implementing a
system designed to speed up federal court review of state death penalty cases.
CJLF has denounced the move as a betrayal of victims of crime.
“EXONERATED” FORMER DEATH ROW INMATE RECONVICTED
April 8, 2010:
Former death row inmate Timothy Hennis, listed as “exonerated” on the “innocence list”
maintained by the Death Penalty Information Center, was found guilty of three counts
of premeditated murder by a military jury today.
HIGH COURT REJECTS MURDERER’S CLAIM OF BIAS IN JURY SELECTION
March 30, 2010:
The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned a federal appeals court ruling which held a
murder conviction invalid because the racial makeup of the jury pool varied from that
of the community where the trial was held. This "decision preserves the flexibility
necessary for states to implement a color-blind process for summoning people for jury
service...,” said Foundation Legal Director Kent Scheidegger.
