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

Pope Urban II sparks First Crusade

Pope Urban II threw his support behind what would become the First Crusade on November 27, 1095 during the Council of Clairmont. The Pope urged the council's participants to render aid to the Byzantine Empire, which was being attacked by the Seljuks. Pope Urban called for a wide coalition of rich and poor to combat the threat, which eventually resulted in the conquest of much of the Muslim-controlled Levant by the Crusaders and the establishment of the Crusader States. Read Pope Urban's address.  

Catholic Code of Canon Law revised

On November 27, 1983, the revised Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church went into effect. Learn more about the history of Canon Law from Professor Kenneth Pennington of the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law.

Alfred Nobel creates Nobel Prize in his will

On November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his will, creating the Nobel Prize. Learn more about the history of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Commission.