Spring 2001: Does Capital Punishment Have a Future? Participants Kent Scheidegger Kent S. Scheidegger has been the Legal Director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation since December 1986. He has also served as Vice-Chairman of the Criminal law and Procedure Practice Group of the Federalist Society since 1996. His articles on criminal and constitutional law have been published in law reviews, national legal publications, and congressional reports. Legal arguments authored by Mr. Scheidegger have been cited and incorporated in several precedent-setting United States Supreme Court decisions. After receiving a degree in physics with honors from New Mexico State University in 1976, Mr. Scheidegger served for six years in the United States Air Force as a Nuclear Research Officer. He took his law degree with distinction from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1982 and practiced civil law in Northern California. He was general counsel of Cooler, Inc. from 1984 until 1986, when he joined the Foundation. The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation (CJLF) is a nonprofit public interest law organization dedicated to restoring a balance between the rights of crime victims and the criminally accused. The Foundation's purpose is to assure that people who are guilty of committing crimes receive swift and certain punishment in an orderly and thoroughly constitutional manner. To accomplish this, CJLF attorneys introduce persuasive legal arguments in criminal cases before the state and federal appellate courts to encourage precedent-setting decisions which recognize the constitutional rights of victims and law-abiding society. The Foundation's scholarly, low-profile approach has resulted in several United States Supreme Court decisions having a national effect to reduce the length, complexity and expense of appeals, recognize the rights and needs of child crime victims, and improve law enforcement's ability to identify and prosecute drug manufacturers and traffickers. The Foundation believes that the crime and violence dominating American life today is the result of a deterioration in basic values which bind people together in a civilized society. Our institutions, and particularly the criminal justice system, have evolved from a force encouraging responsible behavior to one which routinely excuses the most flagrant violations of the law. Select Articles Available Online: ABA Briefs in the 1997-98 Supreme Court Term, Kent S. Scheidegger - A review of the American Bar Association's amicus curiae briefs in criminal cases, all of which supported the defendant. Criminal Law News, Winter 1998, Vol. 2, No. 3, page 12. Overdue Process, Kent S. Scheidegger - A 1995 study questioning constitutional and policy justifications for federal habeas corpus review of state convictions and a proposal for reform. Selected Cases: Teague v. Lane 489 U.S. 288 (1989) (From the FindLaw Web site) McCleskey v. Zant, 499 U.S. 467 (1991) (From the Legal Information Institute Web site) Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808 (1991) (From the Legal Information Institute Web site) Felker v. Turpin, 518 U.S. 651 (1996) (From Northwestern University Oyez Project Web site) Terry Williams v. Taylor, 146 L.Ed.2d 289, 120 S.Ct. 1495 (2000) (From the Legal Information Institute Web site) Weeks v. Angelone, No. 99-5746 (January 19, 2000) (From the Legal Information Institute Web site) Roe v. Ortega, No. 98-1441 (February 23, 2000) (From the Legal Information Institute Web site) Slack v. McDaniel, No. 98-6322 (April 26, 2000) (From the Legal Information Institute Web site) Jones v. United States, No. 97-9361 (June 21, 1999) (From the Legal Information Institute Web site) Texas v. Cobb, No. 99-1702 (From Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism On the Docket Web site) Shaw v. Murphy, No. 99-1613 (From Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism On the Docket Web site) Read Kent Scheidegger's chat transcript. Back to Participants Spring 2001 Summit Home | Learning Links & Readings Student Activities| Participants | Transcripts National Online Youth Summit Home