June 2010

Yesterday, former Harvard Law School dean Elena Kagan began answering questions from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee as confirmation hearings started on her nomination to the United States Supreme Court. 

Elena Kagan is young at 50 years old and her presence on the High Court could impact the law of the land for several

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear Cullen v. Pinholster (09-1088), reviewing California’s federal Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on whether or not the death penalty should be reinstated for convicted murderer Scott Pinholster

Importance of mitigating factor was the key to Ninth Circuit’s decision.

The Ninth Circuit nixed capital

Failure to include a "mitigation specialist" in a death penalty case is arguably per se ineffective assistance of counsel, violating the defendant’s rights under both the Sixth and Eighth Constitution according to the United States Supreme Court. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984); Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68 (1985); Wiggins