Naming the Dragon: Litigating Race Issues During a Death Penalty Trial
16 Pages Posted: 8 Aug 2008
Date Written: Summer 2004
Abstract
The issue of racial disparity in the administration of the death penalty is a persistent theme in modern capital jurisprudence. Starting with Furman v. Georgia and continuing on to McCleskey v. Zant,courts have struggled to come to grips with this issue. This article does not explore all of the legal ramifications of race and the death penalty, nor its political import. Rather, it tackles some of the practical problems facing a capital defense attorney in the courtroom by providing a brief overview of motions practice in this arena by using a federal capital case the author recently tried as an example.
Keywords: death penalty, race, jury selection, motions practice
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