Republicans to move on legislation streamlining death penalty cases News
Republicans to move on legislation streamlining death penalty cases

[JURIST] Congressional Republicans on Wednesday said they planned to move forward with the Streamlined Procedures Act of 2005 [bill summary], legislation aimed at speeding up executions in the US by limiting the number of appeals that can be made by defendants. Sen. Arlen Specter [official website] said he planned to bring the bill up for a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] on Thursday, while a similar bill is also going forward in the House. The bill restricts the ability of defendants to seek writs of habeas corpus [LectLaw backgrounder] to have their appeals heard in federal courts. The bill was the subject of a Judiciary Committee hearing [witness list] on Wednesday, in which Sen. Patrick Leahy [official website] said the law addressed a "nonexistent problem." Another provision that is attached to the USA Patriot Act reauthorization bill would subject arguments by defendants that they had incompetent counsel to review by the attorney general rather than a federal judge. According to the Department of Justice, the number of people sentenced to death and executed has been falling [JURIST report], with 59 executed and 125 sentenced to death in 2004. Both the American Bar Association and the Judicial Conference of the United States [official websites] have opposed the legislation [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.