by Bert | Nov 26, 2018 | Mississippi
An important update on the Curtis Flowers case (the petitioner we highlighted in September): two weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. While this is an encouraging development—on the perhaps not-so-safe assumption that the Court will actually...
by Bert | Dec 18, 2017 | Nevada
The Constitution prohibits lawyers from excluding prospective jurors on the basis of race. This basic tenet of equal protection, enshrined in the famous case Batson v Kentucky (1986), may be unfamiliar to an entire prosecutors’ office in Clark County, Nevada. Looking...
by Bert | Nov 20, 2017 | Alabama
It’s no secret prosecutors accused of discriminating against prospective jurors in jury selection usually get away with excluding the jurors they do not want to serve. What is remarkable, however, is that even prosecutors who document plans to strike jurors on the...
by Bert | Dec 29, 2016 | Alabama
After five terms—some 30 years—in office, the elected District Attorney of the 20th Judicial District of Alabama, Douglas Valeska, is coming to the end of his stint as DA. He chose not to run for office again, paving the way for Patrick “Pat” Jones to replace him....
by Bert | May 16, 2016 | Alabama
Last week, media provided heavy coverage to a 4-to-4 U.S. Supreme Court ruling which denied the State of Alabama’s request to lift a stay of Vernon Madison’s execution. Numerous outlets discussed how the Supreme Court’s outlook and decision-making have changed since...
