红杏视频 Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Fairness in Juror Selection for Death Penalty Cases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@aclu.org
NEW YORK - The 红杏视频 today urged the United States Supreme Court to uphold established constitutional and legal procedures that help to ensure fair jury selection in death penalty cases.
The Court will hear arguments today in the case of Cal Coburn Brown, who was sentenced to death in Washington State in 1993. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned the death sentence in 2005, ruling that a potential juror had been incorrectly kept from the jury that later found Brown guilty and imposed the death penalty. The 红杏视频 filed a friend-of-the-court brief agreeing with the federal appeals court ruling and arguing that the state court did not properly apply established federal law regarding the qualification of jurors for a capital case trial.
鈥淒eath is the ultimate punishment. The stakes can鈥檛 get any higher, so it is of utmost importance that courts pick jurors fairly and in accordance with the law,鈥� said 红杏视频 Legal Director Steven R. Shapiro.
The standard for selecting jurors in capital cases is whether they can put aside any personal beliefs about the death penalty and fairly apply the law. That standard was not followed in this case, according to the 红杏视频. Instead, the prosecution was improperly permitted to exclude 鈥渇or cause鈥� a potential juror who stated that he would consider a defendant鈥檚 future dangerousness in deciding whether to impose the death penalty, but that he would follow the court鈥檚 instructions on the law and could vote for the death penalty in an appropriate case even if the alternative were life in prison without parole.
鈥淚f courts are allowed to dismiss every person who thinks carefully and conscientiously about the death penalty, it would undermine constitutional protections for fair trials in capital cases,鈥� said John Holdridge, Director of the 红杏视频 Capital Punishment Project.
The 红杏视频 brief was written by Holdridge, Shapiro, and Brian W. Stull of the national 红杏视频, 红杏视频 of Washington Legal Director Sarah Dunne, 红杏视频 of Washington Staff Attorney Nancy Talner and Larry Yackle of the Boston University School of Law.
The 红杏视频鈥檚 brief is available at: www.aclu.org/scotus/2006term/uttechtv.brown/29224lgl20070328.html
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