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CHAIR’S MESSAGEgg
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Stephen
Saltzburg
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Our 2007 Fall Conference on Plea Bargaining turned out to be a
tremendous success. Each of the four panel discussions was met by an
overflow crowd, and featured a diverse make-up of seasoned criminal law
experts. All relied upon their own
broad experience to address the various ethical and professional issues
involved in the plea negotiating process.
We were treated to a special luncheon presentation by Judah Best who
recalled negotiating the nolo
contendere plea that was entered as then Vice-President Spiro Agnew
resigned his office and pled guilty to a tax charge and compared those
negotiations with more recent representation of a Japanese bank on whose
behalf Mr. Best entered a guilty plea.
See photos and hear audio recordings of the sessions.
The Section presented the Norm Maleng Minister of Justice Award to
Lt. Colonel Stuart V. Couch who refused to prosecute a case against a
suspected terrorist at Guantanamo
because the individual had been tortured to obtain a confession. The
Section awarded to the Guantanamo
Military Commissions Military Defense Counsel (bottom photo on the left) the
Charles English Award for their demonstrated desire to challenge
proposed Commission rules that unduly interfered with effective
representation of counsel and to work with prosecutors to arrive at
procedures that protect national security while providing defendants with
the right to present at all stages of the military tribunal proceedings. A
copy of Lt. Col. Couch’s speech is available on the 2007 Fall Conference page.
Additionally,
many of the Section’s committees met, along with the Section Council, to
consider a range of policy proposals that are on track to be presented to
the ABA House of Delegates in February. The most comprehensive of the
proposals is the Criminal Justice Standard Committee’s Standards of the
Prosecutor as Investigator. These
standards are totally new and address in detail the role of the prosecutor
in an office in which prosecutors participate in and supervise
investigations. See the complete list of actions taken by
the Council.
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UPCOMING EVENTS g
NEW PUBLICATIONS…
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Trial Tactics by Stephen Saltzburg
A compilation of
high profile criminal cases, practice tips, legal analyses, and cautions
that prepares defense counsel, prosecutors and judges to do outstanding
work at trial and assists them in ensuring that justice is done each day in
every court throughout the land. The text provides excellent statutory,
case law and inside advice by George
Washington University
Wallace and Beverly Woodbury Professor of Law Stephen Saltzburg. The
54-chapter book is broken down in seven parts: Basic Principles;
Examination of Witnesses; Lay and Expert Opinion; Hearsay, Confrontation
and Compulsory Process; Character Evidence; Summaries and Exhibits, and;
Opening and Closing Arguments.
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Criminal Justice Magazine, Fall 2007 (Symposium issue on mental health and criminal justice)
Criminal Justice Section Newsletter, Fall 2007
See other available Publications and Resources.
SUPREME COURT CASES…
Berry, Earl W. V. Epps, Comm'r, Ms
Doc, Et Al.
The Supreme Court halted the
execution of Mississippi death row inmate Earl Wesley Berry, the third
execution the justices have blocked since agreeing to decide whether lethal
injections violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
The justices gave no reason for granting the stay, and Justices Scalia and
Alito stated that they would have allowed the execution to go forward.
Berry was to be put to death for the
kidnapping and murder of Mary Bounds in rural Mississippi in 1987.
Emmett v. Kelly
The Supreme Court halted the execution of Virginia death row inmate Christopher Scott
Emmett, and decided to review the constitutionality of lethal injection, and
whether the procedure amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Granted just
hours before Emmett was to be put to death, this was the second time the
justices have stopped an execution since agreeing to decide whether lethal
injections carry the potential for pain that would violate constitutional
standards.
The court, which reviews applications for stays on a case-by-case basis, gave
no reason for halting Emmett’s execution, declaring only that “the execution
of sentence of death is stayed pending final disposition of the appeal by the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit or further order of
this Court.”
Section member and sentencing expert Douglas A. Berman told The Washington
Post that the he believes the stay granted by the court is a de facto
moratorium, and with almost all executions being carried out by lethal
injection, a halt “would mean the most profound hiatus in the operation of
the death penalty in at least two decades.”
The Court’s order, with no indication of dissent, can be found here.
See past E-News.
The American Bar Association
Criminal Justice Section
740 15th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20005
Phone: (202) 662-1500, Fax: (202) 662-1501
Email: crimjustice@abanet.org Web: www.abanet.org/crimjust
The ABA-CJS E-News is a monthly publication e-mailed to all CJS
members who have provided an e-mail address. To review our privacy statement,
go to http://www.abanet.org/privacy_statement.html
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