USA: SUPREME COURT BEGINS NEW TERM WITH AT LEAST ONE CAPITAL CASE

October 3, 2014: The U.S. Supreme Court will begin its 2014-15 term on October 6.
One of the cases the Court will hear during its 1st month is Jennings v. Stephens, a Texas death penalty case involving ineffectiveness of counsel and whether a separate appeal is necessary for each such claim.
Oral arguments will take place on October 15. The Court has been asked to review an appeal from Scott Panetti, another death row inmate from Texas, who may be mentally incompetent.
Last year, the Supreme Court struck down Florida's strict IQ cutoff for determining intellectual disability. In that case, Hall v. Florida, the Court concluded that "Florida's law contravenes our Nation's commitment to dignity and its duty to teach human decency as the mark of a civilized world." (Source: DPIC, 03/10/2014)