Second Murder Conviction Overturned Because of Prosecutor Error:  At Wall Street Journal's Law Blog, Amir Efrati reports that Zachary Wilson had his second murder conviction overturned by the Third Circuit.  Efrati reports that the Third Circuit, in an opinion authored by Judge Jane R. Roth, said prosecutors had violated Wilson's constitutional rights by failing to disclose facts about three of the government's key witnesses.   According to a Legal Intelligencer article by Shannon P. Duffy, Wilson's first murder conviction was overturned in 2005 on grounds that prosecutors improperly struck blacks from the jury.  Wilson had been convicted for shooting of David Smith following a dispute over a game of craps in 1982.  His second conviction, for the August 1981 gangland-style slaying of Jamie Lamb in a North Philadelphia bar, was overturned because the prosecutor had improperly withheld information that would have been considered important to the defense for its value in impeaching the witnesses.

Supreme Selection:  At Sentencing Law and Policy Doug Berman has posted a link to Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III's essay on the docket and case selection process of the Supreme Court.  The essay, "If It Ain't Broke...", tackles reformers' complaints that the Supreme Court should decide more cases and that the mechanism used to select cases ought to be changed.  Berman writes that he does not agree with everything that Judge Wilkinson III says, but that he does agree that dramatic modification of the case selection process could do more harm than good.   For example, Judge Wilkinson III believes that dramatic change will lead to more litigation, lead to further politicization of the judicial process, and warns "Congressional reform of Supreme Court structure sets a dangerous precedent that can be used to undermine judicial independence and the separation of powers in the future." 

An "Unorganized Militia" to Fight Terror:  At Volokh Conspiracy Randy Barnett blogged over the weekend that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's failed attempt to bomb Northwest flight #253 "highlights the importance of the unorganized militia in asymetric warfare."  Barnett believes that an unorganized militia - those not in the National Guard or Naval Militia - may be the "only self defense available when domestic or foreign terrorists chose their next moment for murder."  He is quick to point out that he is not advocating the arming of passengers on airplanes, but rather believes there is a need for a militia "in a world of hyper-lethal armies" engaged in asymetric warfare.  Barnett believes that Congress could achieve a well-regulated militia through voluntary training programs that make "people feel empowered to defend themselves... and conscious of their responsibilities as militia members to act when an emergency arises..."
 
Sacramento Joins the McDonald v. Chicago Debate:  Today, on How Appealing, Howard Bashman posted a link to Loretta Kalb's Sacramento Bee report that the Sacramento City Council has voted to join other cities in supporting Chicago in the Second Amendment case, McDonald v. Chicago.  According to Kalb, the amicus brief submitted on behalf of Sacramento and other cities is expected to argue that state and local governments are exercising one of their core police powers by regulating possession and use of firearms.  Sacramento currently regulates handguns and ammunition by requiring handgun owners to report a lost or stolen firearm or be charged with a misdemeanor, and requiring firearms dealers to thumb-print and electronically report the names and addresses of those who buy ammunition.  Nathan Koppel covers the Sacramento City Council's decision on Wall Street Journal's Law Blog.