DEATH PENALTY IN ARKANSAS, The Story Continues | Trump Rain Checks SCOTUS Dinner
April 24, 2017
TODAY AT SCOTUS
|The justices today will hear a case that could determine the fate of two condemned men in Arkansas (as well as others on death row across the state). NPR’s Nina Totenberg provides us a preview of the case reporting, “At issue is whether an indigent defendant whose sanity is a significant factor in his trial, is entitled to assistance from a mental health expert witness who is independent of the prosecutors.” Read her full story here.
41 SHOTS
|The Supreme Court today declined to take up the case of a Houston man who was paralyzed when a policeman shot him in the back during a traffic stop. JUSTICES SONIA SOTOMAYOR and RUTH BADER GINSBURG both dissented from the decision and said the court’s refusal to take the case reveals a “disturbing trend” of protecting police officers from lawsuits and not intervening when they act wrongly.
ED BOARD OVERTURE
|“In short, the first significant decision by JUSTICE GORSUCH, who was sworn in to office less than two weeks ago, was the most consequential any justice can make — to approve a man’s killing by the state.” The Editorial Board of The New York Times responds to Gorsuch’s very first vote and asserts, “Neil Gorsuch held the power of life and death in his hands Thursday night. His choice led to Ledell Lee’s execution, and gave the nation an early, and troubling, look into the mind-set of the high court’s newest member.”
RAIN CHECK PLEASE
|Late last week, the White House announced a somewhat surprising addition to the president’s schedule, noting he would be having dinner with justices of the Supreme Court, including his beloved nominee, JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH. However, the justices will have to wait to wine and dine with PRESIDENT TRUMP because the dinner has since been postponed.
ASK ME ANYTHING
|Oklahoma death row inmate RICHARD GLOSSIP — who had his case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 — has survived three separate execution dates, and is still sitting on death row. His story has illuminated longstanding problems with Oklahoma’s system of capital punishment; problems the Oklahoma Death Penalty Review Commission is seeking to better understand and eventually solve. The Commission will release a report on its findings tomorrow, but in the mean time you can read an AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) on Reddit from Richard Glossip’s attorney, DON KNIGHT, and learn more about Glossip’s case.
OTHER NEWS
'Assembly-line' execution effort in Arkansas fuels opposition
USA TODAY“As three more condemned men face lethal injections this week, the life-or-death legal battle playing out southeast of Little Rock has swamped state and federal courts, including the Supreme Court — which will hear two unrelated capital punishment cases earlier Monday before dealing with the likely, last-minute stay-of-execution petitions.”
GM Is Rejected by U.S. Supreme Court and Left to Face Ignition Claims
Bloomberg“The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for potentially billions of dollars in legal claims against General Motors Co. over a deadly ignition-switch defect, turning away the company’s appeal in a clash connected to its 2009 bankruptcy sale.”
High Court Won't Hear Appeal Over CIA Torture Report
The Associated Press“The Supreme Court has turned away an appeal seeking to force the CIA to release the full 2014 Senate report about the agency’s use of harsh interrogation tactics. The justices on Monday let stand an appeals court ruling that said the 6,900-page report prepared by the Senate Intelligence Committee was not subject to Freedom of Information laws.”