Punch and Jurists

Cone v. Bell, No. 07-1114 (U.S. Supreme Court) (556 U.S. 449; 129 S.Ct. 1769) (April 28, 2009) (Justice Stevens) by To best understand the issues before the Supreme Court in this capital sentencing case, one should start with Justice Stevens’ concluding paragraph where he observed: “In the 27 years since …

Rompilla v. Beard, No. 04-5462 (U.S. Supreme Court) (545 U.S. 374; 125 S.Ct. 2456) (June 20, 2005) (Justice Souter) by Here the Court held, by a 5-to-4 vote, that even when a capital defendant himself has suggested that no mitigating evidence is available, his lawyer is bound to make reasonable …