Revised Supreme Court Rules: Yesterday, SCOTUSblog writer Adam Schlossman reported that on February 16, 2010, the Supreme Court enacted its revised Rules of the Supreme Court. The updated rules reduce the number of words allowed in a merits reply brief from 7,500 to 6,000, and change Rules 26 and 34.1 to clarify what must be included on the cover of the
Joint Appendix. The new rules also require the counsel of record to include an e-mail
address on the cover of every document filed. The Court also made changes to Rule 37, clarifying that only an attorney admitted to practice before the Court is permitted to file an amicus curiae brief and that extensions of time for amicus curiae briefs at the merits stage will not be entertained. Other minor changes can be found in the Court's official memorandum.
A Study on "Last Words": In June 2009, Justice Quarterly published Of Guilt, Defiance, and Repentance: Evidence from the Texas Death Chamber, an empirical article statistically examining what an inmate says right before he is executed. The study, conducted by Stephen K. Rice, Danielle Dirks and Julie J. Exline, examined inmates' final statements for the period between December 1982 and early June 2005. The authors found that before January 12, 1996, 14% of the last statements admitted responsibility and 6% expressed sorrow or sought forgiveness from the victim's family. Only 10% of the last statements were coded as criticizing the legitimacy of the death penalty. On January 12, 1996, Texas began allowing family and friends of homicide victims to attend executions. After that date, 43% of inmates admitted guilt during their last statements 41% expressed repentance and a desire for forgiveness. (h/t Ian Ayers' post on New York Times' Freakonomics Blog)
House Impeaches Federal Judge Porteous: At Wall Street Journal's Law Blog, Ashby Jones reports that the House of Representatives has unanimously voted to impeach New Orleans federal judge Thomas Porteous. Porteous had been accused of of soliciting money from lawyers who appeared before him. According to a Times-Picayune article by Bruce Alpert, Porteous is the 15th judge found to have committed "high crimes and misdemeanors," the Constitution's criteria for impeachment. Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) stated, "Our investigation found that Judge Porteous participated in a pattern of corrupt conduct for years." On Volokh Conspiracy, Eugene Volokh posted the articles of impeachment.
Data From the Sentencing Commissions Quarterly Update: At Sentencing Law and Policy, Doug Berman sees a "slow migration away from guidelines" in the U.S. Sentencing Commissions 2009 Final FY09 Quarterly Update. Berman reports that in FY09, approximately 57% of all federal sentences are within the calculated guidelines range, with prosecutors sponsoring a below-range sentence in more than 25% of all cases. In 2% of all the cases, judges ordered an above-guideline sentence and initiated a below-guideline sentence in nearly 16% of all cases. The Sentencing Commissions data from FY 2008 wasn't too different. In 2008, prosecutors sponsored a below-range sentence in approximately 25% of its cases and judges initiated a below-range sentence 13.4% of the time.
A Study on "Last Words": In June 2009, Justice Quarterly published Of Guilt, Defiance, and Repentance: Evidence from the Texas Death Chamber, an empirical article statistically examining what an inmate says right before he is executed. The study, conducted by Stephen K. Rice, Danielle Dirks and Julie J. Exline, examined inmates' final statements for the period between December 1982 and early June 2005. The authors found that before January 12, 1996, 14% of the last statements admitted responsibility and 6% expressed sorrow or sought forgiveness from the victim's family. Only 10% of the last statements were coded as criticizing the legitimacy of the death penalty. On January 12, 1996, Texas began allowing family and friends of homicide victims to attend executions. After that date, 43% of inmates admitted guilt during their last statements 41% expressed repentance and a desire for forgiveness. (h/t Ian Ayers' post on New York Times' Freakonomics Blog)
House Impeaches Federal Judge Porteous: At Wall Street Journal's Law Blog, Ashby Jones reports that the House of Representatives has unanimously voted to impeach New Orleans federal judge Thomas Porteous. Porteous had been accused of of soliciting money from lawyers who appeared before him. According to a Times-Picayune article by Bruce Alpert, Porteous is the 15th judge found to have committed "high crimes and misdemeanors," the Constitution's criteria for impeachment. Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) stated, "Our investigation found that Judge Porteous participated in a pattern of corrupt conduct for years." On Volokh Conspiracy, Eugene Volokh posted the articles of impeachment.
Data From the Sentencing Commissions Quarterly Update: At Sentencing Law and Policy, Doug Berman sees a "slow migration away from guidelines" in the U.S. Sentencing Commissions 2009 Final FY09 Quarterly Update. Berman reports that in FY09, approximately 57% of all federal sentences are within the calculated guidelines range, with prosecutors sponsoring a below-range sentence in more than 25% of all cases. In 2% of all the cases, judges ordered an above-guideline sentence and initiated a below-guideline sentence in nearly 16% of all cases. The Sentencing Commissions data from FY 2008 wasn't too different. In 2008, prosecutors sponsored a below-range sentence in approximately 25% of its cases and judges initiated a below-range sentence 13.4% of the time.
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