Capital Trial Newsletter

The Illinois Lifeline is the only publication developed specifically for Illinois death penalty trial lawyers. At a compact six pages, it is the perfect size to print out for reading during those felony docket calls. Every quarter, the expert staff at CTAU write about the hottest practice topics that you need to know about in defending against the death penalty.

 

In the Spring 2010 issue, neuroscience debuts in Illinois courts in the Brian Dugan case. Get the inside story of how psychopathy can be used as mitigation. There are two articles about defending the autistic client in a capital case and how autism resulted in one southern Illinois case being de-deathed. Our regular "Major New Cases" feature deals with the important role military service plays in mitigation, plus other noteworthy decisions. There is also a story on lead paint's role in mitigation.
This issue of Lifeline highlights the frustrations of litigating a false confession case in Illinois, the growing number of bad decisions, and how to work your way around them. Also included is a report on People v. Safford, a case holding that prosecution "experts" (in this case, fingerprints) may not give summary, conclusory testimony as to the methodology utilized. Other recent cases pertinent to capital defense are also discussed. The "Colorado Method" of voir dire is explained, and the emerging area of brain imaging as potential mitigation is presented. A reminder and preview of the October death penalty seminar is also included.
The issue features two important new decisions: fitness for trial gets a shake-up from Indiana v. Edwards, and the companion cases of Smith & Titusprovide a new way avoid death eligibility with the right jury verdict forms. ISP labs get slammed in a new state auditor’s report and the sad state of forensic junk science is also reviewed. Other articles include an introduction to Defense Initiated Victim Outreach and a preview of the fall death penalty defense seminar.