www.ildialogo.org Death penalty direct appeal,di Caudio Giusti

This is only a work in progress: any suggestion or correction will be warmly welcomed.

Claudio Giusti

1^st January 2010

Two tier, three tier systems and the death penalty appellate review.

In Usa there are eleven states without the intermediate Courts of Appeals. (two tier system). Six with the capital punishment and five without. In the six retentionist states (Delaware, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota and Wyoming) a death penalty sentence is appellate directly to the State Supreme Court.

In few states with intermediate Courts of Appeals (three tier system) the direct capital appeal takes the long road. In the very big majority of the three tier states it jumps directly to the higher state court (whatever is named).

This happens in: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho (?), Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana (?), Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington,

States where the direct appeal is heard by an intermediate Appellate Court are:

Alabama, Illinois (?), Kansas (?), South Carolina (?) and Tennessee

The eleven states without intermediate appellate courts are : DE, ME, MT, NV, NH, ND, RI, SD, VT, WV, WY. 6 with and 5 without the death penalty

THE STATES WITHOUT THE DEATH PENALTY (15) ARE:

Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia,

Wisconsin, and District of Columbia.

(Both the federal jurisdictions have the death penalty)

Coming soon

The collateral attack to the death sentence (habeas corpus proceeding) typically begins in a state court and takes the road to the appellate court and then to the local court of last resort. Does it, in some states, jumps directly to the supreme court?

Dott. Claudio Giusti

Via Don Minzoni 40, 47100 Forlì, Italia
Tel. 39/0543/401562 39/340/4872522
e-mail giusticlaudio@aliceposta.it

http://www.osservatoriosullalegalita.org/special/penam.htm

Member of the Scientific Committee of Osservatorio sulla Legalità e i Diritti, Claudio Giusti had the privilege and the honour to participate in the first congress of the Italian Section of Amnesty International: later he was one of the founders of the World Coalition Against The Death Penalty.

Mercoledì 06 Gennaio,2010 Ore: 11:42