Court decision added: North Carolina v Jones (2006-2008)

Related to my prior FYI book post (re: The Last Lawyer), I found copies of all relevant court decisions from 2006 to 2008 (North Carolina v Jones) at the ACLU web site. Click here.  The links to the PDF court papers are near the bottom of the page.  A quick search of the files using the keyword "mental retardation" indicates that this is a case where MR was an issue....and it thus fits with other Atkins cases posted at this blog.


Technorati Tags: psychology, forensic psychology, criminal justice, criminal psychology, neuropsychology, law, death penalty, capital punishment, North Carolina v Jones, Bo Jones, innocent, intelligence, IQ tests, IQ scores, mental retardation, MR, developmental disabilities

MR and Atkins cases: Guide to state legislative issues (James Ellis)

In my morning web searching I ran across the following document that may be of interest to readers of this blog.  The title of the document is Mental Retardation and the Death Penalty:  A Guide to State Legislative Issues.  It is written by a law professor--James W. Ellis, Regents Professor of Law, University of New Mexico School of Law.  According to his faculty web page, Ellis has "worked on behalf of people with mental disabilities in the civil and criminal justice system." The publication is associated with the International Justice Project.  I noticed that some of the MR related links at the IJP page are not working..so I'm not sure how active or current this project is.

Below is the first paragraph.

The interest in State Legislatures in the topic of mental retardation and the death penalty has obviously heightened with the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Atkins v. Virginia, 122 S.Ct. 2242 (June 20, 2002). The purpose of this document is to provide legislators and advocates with guidance in implementing the Atkins decision, so that each State’s death penalty legislation is in full compliance with constitutional requirements.

Technorati Tags: psychology, law, disability rights, criminal justice, Atkins cases, intellectual disability, SCOTUS, mental retardation, MR, International Justice Project, legislation, states

Journal: Mental & Physical Disability Law Reporter

In my last post I featured the ABA Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law. I forgot to mention the journal publication featured by the commission, which would likely be a valuable resource for professionals involved in Atkin's death penalty cases. Check out Mental and Physical Disability Law Reporter. At the web page, the journal is briefly described as:

• Published since 1976, the Reporter provides timely summaries of reported legal developments over a two-month period in 22 subject areas covering disability discrimination law and civil and criminal mental disability law. Available in print and online.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, forensic psychology, clinical psychology, mental retardation, developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, MR, Atkins, death penalty, ABA, American Bar Association, CMPDL, Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law, capital punishment, Mental and Physical Disability Law Reporter