The Arizona Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and death sentence this morning in State v. Lehr. The opinion includes a fairly outrageous jury misconduct claim, arising from the jurors’ applauding a state’s witness and giving a thumbs up to one of the victims. The opinion is below.
What’s New
Yesterday the 9th Circuit ruled that Richard Hurles is entitled to a new sentencing hearing on a claim of judicial bias. The judge who presided over Mr. Hurles’ trial and capital sentencing became an adversary in his case by actively participating in a pre-trial interlocutory appeal. The opinion is below.
Yesterday Texas executed Humberto Leal, a Mexican national who had been denied his right to consular assistance under the Vienna Convention. For more information please visit www.humbertoleal.org
This morning the Arizona Supreme Court affirmed the death sentence in State v. Styers. Justice Hurwitz dissented, finding the case should be remanded for a jury sentencing. Notably, both the majority and the dissent believe the 9th Circuit incorrectly granted relief after finding the Arizona Supreme Court had committed a Tennard violation.
On May 24, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a temporary stay of execution for Donald Beaty to allow for oral argument on the State’s last-minute switch in lethal injection drugs. This afternoon, the Court lifted the stay, finding that Mr. Beaty would not be able to prove a substantial risk of injury due to the switch.
On Friday, the Arizona Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and death sentence in State v. Dixon and the death sentence in State v. Prince. The Court’s opinions are below.
Jeff Toobin of the New Yorker recently profiled Danalynn Recer of the Gulf Region Advocacy Center in Houston, Texas. The Arizona Capital Representation Project had the pleasure of hosting Danalynn and two of her mitigation specialists at our Mitigation Intensive seminar in April. For more information about Danalynn, GRACE, and their incredible work, please visit www.gracelaw.org.
The Arizona Supreme Court issued its opinion in a special action this morning regarding the victims’ right to be present at ex parte proceedings. The Court vacated the Court of Appeals’ decision, which held that victims do have the right, pursuant to Arizona’s Victims Bill of Rights, to be present at ex parte proceedings where the defendant has the right to be present. The Arizona Supreme Court determined that the proceeding in question was purely procedural, and, therefore, neither the defendant nor the victims had the right to be present. Natman Schaye of the Arizona Capital Representation Project appeared as Amicus on behalf of the Project and numerous capital resource centers and other indigent defense groups.
The Supreme Court has granted a stay of execution for Cleve Foster, a Texas death row inmate, pending the disposition of the petition for rehearing of the Court’s order denying cert in January. Mr. Foster had raised the issue of the constitutional adequacy of state post-conviction counsel.
The Supreme Court has granted a stay of execution for Daniel Wayne Cook, scheduled to be executed tomorrow. The stay was granted to allow consideration of Mr. Cook’s pending cert petition on the issue of whether a defendant has the right to effective assistance of post-conviction counsel under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
