NCJ Number
83129
Journal
Washington and Lee Law Review Volume: 39 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1982) Pages: 101-124
Date Published
1982
Length
24 pages
Annotation
The current procedure for administering the death penalty is critiqued, along with proposals for reforming death penalty appeal procedures.
Abstract
The present system of judicial review of death penalty cases has two major defects. First, the system is repetitive and prone to delay. Second, it discourages the development of clear constitutional guidelines for the States to follow in administering their death penalty laws. In an effort to remedy these defects, Judge Clement Haynsworth, Jr., Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, has proposed that Congress create a new national court of criminal appeals with jurisdiction to review by writ of certiorari the Federal issues arising in all State and Federal criminal cases. Under this proposal, State criminal defendants could petition the national court of criminal appeals for a writ of certiorari on direct appeal from their State's highest appeals court. Further, State criminal defendants who subsquently raised new Federal issues in State postconviction proceedings could submit one postconviction petition for certiorari to the national appeals court. The Haynsworth proposal would provide a prompt and thorough review of the capital defendant's constitutional claims. It would also contribute to the development of clear constitutional standards for the States to follow in administering their death penalty laws. Recently Justice James Cameron of the Arizona Supreme Court offered a modified version of the Haynsworth proposal. Cameron proposes the creation of a national court of State appeals rather than a national court of criminal appeals. The proposed court would have exclusive original jurisdiction to review by writ of certiorari all Federal issues arising in State criminal and civil litigation. A national court for State appeals based on the Haynsworth proposal with the Cameron jurisdictional modification would do much to eliminate the constitutional stalemate in death penalty cases. A total of 132 footnotes are listed.