Ring Claim Down But Not Out
April 28th, 2020
California Law Violates USSC Precedents Including Hurst v. Florida (2016) _U.S._ 136 S. Ct. 616
October 7th, 2018
it was suggested that counsel should request an instruction that the jury “could impose a death sentence only if it found that aggravating factors outweighed mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt,” based on Ring v. Arizona (2002) 536 U.S. 584, 609. However, in the context of the federal death penalty statute the federal courts of appeals that have considered this argument have uniformly rejected it, holding that a jury’s balancing inquiry in a capital case is a subjective and moral one, not a factual one. In Floyd v. Filson, 940 F.3d 1082 (9th Cir. (Nev.), Oct. 11, 2019) the Ninth Circuit expressed “skepticism” about the claim vis a vis the federal statute but declined to directly rule on it.
Tags: CC 763, CC 766, Death Penalty
