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Blog Scan

Mumia Abu-Jamal: Steven D. Levitt, at Freakonomics Blog authored this post, cautioning against the uninformed support of convicted murderer Mumia Abu-Jamal. Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. The federal district court granted habeas relief as to the death sentence but denied relief on the guilt verdict. The Third Circuit affirmed last month in this decision. Levitt's post encourages those who support Mumia to read Murdered by Mumia written by Maureen Faulkner and Michael Smerconish. Maureen Faulkner is Daniel Faulkner's widow, and offers a victim's perspective of the Mumia legal battle. Levitt writes: "If you are a college student, or a Hollywood celebrity, thinking about publicly proclaiming Abu-Jamal’s innocence, I strongly recommend that you read this book first."

Giles Argument: Lyle Denniston reports at SCOTUSblog on today's argument regarding the Confrontation Clause and the murdered witness.

Baze Comments: Volokh Conspirator Paul Cassell has this clarification to his earlier comment on Justice Stevens' opinion in Baze, with links to his prior posts and Orin Kerr's in the same blog.

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