Today in Nordstrom v. Ryan the 9th circuit held that ADC policy of reading outgoing legal mail violates the 6th Amendment and 1st Amendment. The court held that ADC may review outgoing mail for “suspicious features” such as a map or goods, but cannot read the words on the page.
The opinion is available here.
NPR’s 1A highlights the senseless cruelty of solitary confinement. http://the1a.org/audio/#/shows/2017-04-18/cruel-ineffective-ending-solitary-confinement/110701/@00:00
As many of you know, the Arizona Capital Representation Project is facing significant funding challenges this fiscal year. Please join us for a Cinco de Mayo fundraising event to lift our budget and our spirits!
Friday, May 5, 2017 from 4-9pm
New Times Bldg. Courtyard
1201 E. Jefferson Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85034
For details, click here: Cinco de Mayo Fundraiser
Click the “Cinco de Mayo” link and RSVP with your donation in advance!
We look forward to seeing you!
On March 3, 2017, a binding legal settlement was entered between the Arizona Department of Corrections and death row prisoner Scott Nordstrom, represented by the Arizona Capital Representation Project. Like most death penalty states, Arizona classifies its inmates at its highest security level, maximum custody, and houses them in predominately solitary confinement conditions at a super-maximum facility. In late 2015, Mr. Nordstrom filed a section 1983 lawsuit challenging mandatory maximum custody classification for all death sentenced prisoners on Due Process and Eighth Amendment grounds. Under the terms of the settlement, death sentenced prisoners will now be classified for housing based upon the risk assessment criteria used for all other Arizona prisoners, replacing the current system of mandatory placement of death row prisoners into maximum custody at a super-maximum facility. The empirical data overwhelmingly demonstrates that death row prisoners pose no greater security risk than prisoners in general population. See Cunningham, Reidy, and Sorensen, Wasted Resources and Gratuitous Suffering: The Failure of a Security Rationale for Death Row (2015) (available here). The settlement gives the Arizona Department of Corrections flexibility to continue to use maximum custody for prisoners who pose the greatest risk to other prisoners and prison staff while respecting the due process rights of death sentenced prisoners who pose no such threat.
The Arizona Supreme Court has upheld the conviction and death sentence in State v. Hidalgo. The Court rejected Mr. Hidalgo’s Furman challenge.
The Fair Punishment Project released Part I of its report assessing the less than 1% of U.S. counties that frequently use the death penalty. Their research shows that prosecutorial misconduct, bad lawyering, and racial bias are in play in all eight counties studied, including Maricopa County. Read the report here: http://fairpunishment.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/FPP-TooBroken.pdf
An en banc panel of the 9th Circuit upheld the District Court’s denial of habeas relief to Arizona petitioner Eric Mann last week. Mr. Mann had alleged ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and sentencing.
