Dan Balz has this article in the WaPo on the California governor's race, in which lifetime politico and current AG Jerry Brown will face off against a successful Silicon Valley business person (not sure which one yet).
Of all the long-overdue death sentences among California's ~700 denizens of the row, a good many are bottled up in the federal courts. Congress in 1996 provided for a fast track through the federal courts for states that provide qualified counsel on state habeas, as California has from the beginning. In 2006, Congress amended the law to remove some technical barriers to qualification for the fast track and moved the decision on qualification away from the conflicted habeas courts. Now the AG needs to apply for certification and pursue it through the USAG's office and the D.C. Circuit. I wrote to Mr. Brown over a year ago urging such action. No answer. No action.
The fact that there is litigation over implementing regulations is no reason to delay further. Nothing in the statute requires that the regulations be finalized before the certification process can begin.
Overall, Mr. Brown has handled the criminal side of the AG's office by putting good people in charge and letting them do their jobs without interference. That is as good as we at CJLF ever expected from him. In this area, though, "benign neglect" doesn't cut the mustard. This requires affirmative leadership.
You are a man of action, Mr. Brown? You know how to fix problems? Don't tell us; show us. We haven't seen anything yet.
"I know how state government works, how it should work, and I think I can fix it," Brown said in a recent interview.Well, Mr. Brown, how about fixing one of the main things that is wrong within the scope of your current office?
Of all the long-overdue death sentences among California's ~700 denizens of the row, a good many are bottled up in the federal courts. Congress in 1996 provided for a fast track through the federal courts for states that provide qualified counsel on state habeas, as California has from the beginning. In 2006, Congress amended the law to remove some technical barriers to qualification for the fast track and moved the decision on qualification away from the conflicted habeas courts. Now the AG needs to apply for certification and pursue it through the USAG's office and the D.C. Circuit. I wrote to Mr. Brown over a year ago urging such action. No answer. No action.
The fact that there is litigation over implementing regulations is no reason to delay further. Nothing in the statute requires that the regulations be finalized before the certification process can begin.
Overall, Mr. Brown has handled the criminal side of the AG's office by putting good people in charge and letting them do their jobs without interference. That is as good as we at CJLF ever expected from him. In this area, though, "benign neglect" doesn't cut the mustard. This requires affirmative leadership.
You are a man of action, Mr. Brown? You know how to fix problems? Don't tell us; show us. We haven't seen anything yet.
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