Congress recent­ly passed the re-autho­riza­tion of the Patriot Act and this bill is like­ly to cur­tail the appeals of state death row inmates in fed­er­al courts. The leg­is­la­tion, which is due to be signed into law this week by President Bush, would allow states to obtain approval of their sys­tems of rep­re­sen­ta­tion in death penal­ty cas­es from the U.S. Attorney General rather than from the fed­er­al courts, as required under a pre­vi­ous law. Once approval is grant­ed, habeas cor­pus peti­tions alleg­ing con­sti­tu­tion­al error in death ver­dicts would be put on a fast track for res­o­lu­tion. (Under the old law (the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act), only one state’s (Arizona) sys­tem of appoint­ment and com­pen­sa­tion for defense coun­sel had been deemed ade­quate by the courts.)

Critics of the new mea­sure fear that U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales (pic­tured), a strong death penal­ty pro­po­nent, will allow the faster appeals in many states that have failed to meet basic stan­dards for com­pe­tent defense rep­re­sen­ta­tion. They also wor­ry that the short time­lines will deter pri­vate attor­neys from tak­ing cap­i­tal cas­es in fed­er­al court, and could leave some peo­ple on death row with­out coun­sel alto­geth­er. (The (Calif.) Daily Journal, March 8, 2006). See Recent Legislative Activity and Representation.

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