Although the General Assembly has finally wrapped up for the year, there's still been a fair bit of news lately that may be of interest to readers of this blog. 1. First and foremost, the United States Supreme Court recently took the virtually unprecedented step of ordering a hearing on an "original" habeas petition -- one filed directly with the Supreme Court, rather than in a lower court -- in a Georgia capital case. Defendant Troy Davis has exhausted the usual avenues of review, but apparently has a plausible claim that he is innocent. The Court's order is here, Justice Scalia's dissent is here, this Time magazine article gives you the basics in a readable way, and some blog commentary is here and here. Although some prosecution-leaning folks worry, and some defense-leaning folks hope, that this signals the opening of a whole new avenue of review for capital defendants, I doubt that the Court will make a habit of ordering hearings in original habeas proceedings. Rather, the main legal significance of the case is that it may result in a ruling on whether a claim of actual innocence, unconnected to any procedural defect in a defendant's trial, is cognizable in federal court -- a surprisingly controversial issue. 2. The News and Observer published this piece about the effect of the sex offender laws on offenders' ability to attend church. Although the article contains some legal inaccuracies, it also raises some important questions, and is worth a read. 3. In Texas, attorneys [...]
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