--- title: 'Important Court Decisions in New Jersey and Louisiana' description: 'The Appellate Division of New Jersey’s Superior Court in State v. Jimenez announced new procedures on August 17, 2005 for deciding claims of mental…' canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/important-court-decisions-in-new-jersey-and-louisiana' section: news date: '2005-08-18T20:55:32-04:00' updated: '2025-03-14T14:54:07-04:00' source: 'Death Penalty Information Center' --- The Appellate Division of **New Jersey**'s Superior Court in **State v. Jimenez** announced new procedures on August 17, 2005 for deciding claims of mental retardation by a defendant facing the death penalty: (a) the State must be put to the burden of proving the absence of mental retardation when a colorable issue is presented; (b) the State's burden is to prove the absence of mental retardation beyond a reasonable doubt; (c) the jury must be the factfinder; and (d) a defendant may never be put to any burden of persuasion at any pretrial proceeding concerning the issue. -from the concurring opinion. See the entire opinion: . In **Louisiana** on August 9, 2005 in a pre-trial ruling by Louisiana State District Court Judge Stephen Beasley in the case of **State v. Jimmy Turner**, 11th JDC, Sabine Parish, the court found Louisiana's law providing procedures for the determination of mental retardation in a capital case to be unconstitutional on several grounds. In particular, the court found the use of a death-qualified jury to make the finding of mental retardation to be prone to error.