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<font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=2 color="#A50000"><b> Thursday,
March 27, 2008<br>
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<a href="http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/03/federal-appeals-court-backs-new.php" eudora="autourl">
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/03/federal-appeals-court-backs-new.php<br>
</a></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=2><b>Federal appeals court
backs new sentencing hearing for Mumia Abu-Jamal</b></font><font size=3>
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<a href="http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/jurist_search.php?q=Joshua Pantesco">
Joshua Pantesco</a> at 11:54 AM ET<br><br>
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[JURIST] Journalist and former Black Panther
<a href="http://www.mumia.org//freedom.now/">Mumia Abu-Jamal</a>
[advocacy website; <i>Philadelphia Inquirer</i>
<a href="http://www.philly.com/inquirer/hot_topics/13796702.html">
archive</a>], convicted in 1982 of killing Philadelphia police officer
<a href="http://www.danielfaulkner.com/">Daniel Faulkner</a> [advocacy
website] after a traffic stop, may escape the death penalty after the US
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Thursday issued an
<a href="http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/019014p.pdf">opinion</a>
[PDF text] affirming a federal judge's allowance of a new sentencing
hearing in the case. If prosecutors decline to seek a new sentencing
hearing, Abu-Jamal will automatically receive life in prison. <br><br>
</font>The Third Circuit considered four issues on appeal: <br>
<dl>
<dd>(1) whether the Commonwealth's use of peremptory challenges violated
Abu-Jamal's constitutional rights under
<a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0476_0079_ZS.html">
Batson v. Kentucky</a> [opinion text]...; (2) whether the prosecution's
trial summation denied Abu-Jamal due process; (3) whether Abu-Jamal was
denied due process during post-conviction proceedings as a result of
judicial bias; and (4) whether the jury charge and sentencing verdict
sheet violated Abu-Jamal's constitutional rights under
<a href="http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=486&invol=367">
Mills v. Maryland</a> ... and
<a href="http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=494&invol=370">
Boyde v. California</a> ... [opinion texts].<br><br>
</dl><font size=3>The Third Circuit agreed with the
<a href="http://media.philly.com/documents/yohnsorder.pdf">district court
ruling</a> [PDF text] on every issue:
<ul>
<li>Abu-Jamal did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that the
prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges established a pattern of
selecting jurors on the basis of race, which is constitutionally
impermissible.
<li>Abu-Jamal's due process rights were not violated by the prosecutor's
closing arguments at trial, during which the prosecutor said "of
course there would be appeal after appeal and perhaps there could be a
reversal of the case, or whatever, so that may not be final."
Abu-Jamal contended that this statement undermined the juror's sense of
responsibility to arrive at the correct verdict. The Third Circuit
disagreed, saying instead that the comments "did not rise to the
sort of egregious misconduct that amounts to a denial of constitutional
due process...and they did not have a substantial and injurious effect or
influence in determining the jury's verdict" (internal quotations
and citations omitted).
<li>The Third Circuit did not consider the merits of Abu-Jamal's claim
that judicial bias deprived him of due process during the post-conviction
proceedings, as such a claim is not cognizable on <i>habeas</i> appeal.
<li>Finally, the Third Circuit agreed that the jury instructions and
verdict form used at trial were constitutionally deficient, as they did
not clearly explain that jurors did not have to unanimously agree on
mitigating circumstances that would preclude application of the death
penalty.
</ul>The case has become a notorious cause celebre for death penalty
opponents, attracting the attention of artists, civil rights activists,
and politicians. It is unclear whether Abu-Jamal will appeal the Third
Circuit decision to the US Supreme Court. AP has
<a href="http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080327/D8VLR3J00.html">more</a>
. The <i>Philadelphia Inquirer</i> has
<a href="http://www.philly.com/inquirer/hot_topics/13796702.html">local
coverage</a>. <br><br>
<br><br>
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