Supreme Court Relaxes Miranda: Los Angeles Times writer David G. Savage reports on Wednesday's Supreme Court decision, Maryland v. Shatzer, to allow a suspect to be questioned for a second time 14 days after first invoking his Miranda "right to remain silent". A 7-2 majority overturned a strict rule set in 1981 that barred police from questioning a suspect after he had asked to remain silent and speak with a lawyer. Known as the "Edwards rule," it was intended to prevent investigators from "badgering" a suspect who was held in jail after he had invoked his Miranda rights. "In a country that harbors a large number of repeat offenders, the consequence" of the no-further questioning rule "is disastrous," said Justice Antonin Scalia. Lauren's blog on the decision can be found here. Our brief in the case can be found here.
NY Subway Bomb Plotters Say "Not Guilty": Associated Press writer Adam Goldman reports on the guilty pleas of two high school classmates of admitted terrorist plotter Najibullah Zazi for a foiled plot to bomb New York City subways in the days after the eighth anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Zarein Ahmedzay and Adis Medunjanin were indicted with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country and providing material support to the al-Qaida terrorist network. After Zazi pleaded guilty last week (News Scan coverage available here) Attorney General Eric Holder stated that, "The facts alleged in this indictment shed further light on the scope of this attempted attack and underscore the importance of using every tool we have available to both disrupt plots against our nations and hold suspected tterrorists accountable." Both Ahmedzay and Medunjanin had travelled to Pakistan with Zazi in 2008. Medunjanin's attorney did not know if Zazi had told prosecutors anything about his client.
UPDATE "Death Penalty Thrown Out in Texas Murders": New York Times writer John Schwartz reports on Wednesday's Texas Court of Appeals' decision to throw out the death sentence of a man whose double murder conviction gained international attention because of revelations that the judge and prosecutor had had an extramarital affair. The Court of Appeals, however, did not mention the affair, instead focusing on whether jurors had been blocked from getting information that mght have helped them deliver a less severe sentence. The court's decision will give convicted murderer, Charles Hood, a new hearing on the question of punishment. The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation's Kent Scheidegger stated that now that the death penalty has been removed from the table, it is unlikely the Supreme Court will agree to hear the petitions for appeal.
NY Subway Bomb Plotters Say "Not Guilty": Associated Press writer Adam Goldman reports on the guilty pleas of two high school classmates of admitted terrorist plotter Najibullah Zazi for a foiled plot to bomb New York City subways in the days after the eighth anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Zarein Ahmedzay and Adis Medunjanin were indicted with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country and providing material support to the al-Qaida terrorist network. After Zazi pleaded guilty last week (News Scan coverage available here) Attorney General Eric Holder stated that, "The facts alleged in this indictment shed further light on the scope of this attempted attack and underscore the importance of using every tool we have available to both disrupt plots against our nations and hold suspected tterrorists accountable." Both Ahmedzay and Medunjanin had travelled to Pakistan with Zazi in 2008. Medunjanin's attorney did not know if Zazi had told prosecutors anything about his client.
UPDATE "Death Penalty Thrown Out in Texas Murders": New York Times writer John Schwartz reports on Wednesday's Texas Court of Appeals' decision to throw out the death sentence of a man whose double murder conviction gained international attention because of revelations that the judge and prosecutor had had an extramarital affair. The Court of Appeals, however, did not mention the affair, instead focusing on whether jurors had been blocked from getting information that mght have helped them deliver a less severe sentence. The court's decision will give convicted murderer, Charles Hood, a new hearing on the question of punishment. The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation's Kent Scheidegger stated that now that the death penalty has been removed from the table, it is unlikely the Supreme Court will agree to hear the petitions for appeal.
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