NY lawmakers to vote on death penalty News
NY lawmakers to vote on death penalty

[JURIST] The New York State Assembly Codes Committee [official website] will vote Tuesday on a measure to reauthorize the state's death penalty, which was declared unconstitutional in June. The New York State Assembly recently released a report [official text] detaling five full days of public hearings on the death penalty, featuring testimony from 170 witnesses. The decision [opinion text, PDF] from New York's highest court stated that life without parole was the maximum sentence which could be imposed under current law. Public opinion polls in New York show a large majority preferring a life sentence over the death penalty as the maximum sentence. New York's move away from the death penalty would add to a national focus on the issue, highlighted by the US Supreme Court's recent decision [opinion text] to ban juvenile executions. Last month, legislators in Connecticut voted on a bill [AP report] to ban death penalty. Also in March, a bill to abolish New Mexico's death penalty [bill text] was approved by the state House, but died in committee [Albuquerque Tribune report] before reaching the Senate floor. New York was the most recent state to reinstate the death penalty, and seems likely to be the first to decide that the experiment has failed. The New York Daily News has arguments from state legislators both for and against sending the bill to the full Assembly.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.