Scott Thomas Erskine v. California
AdministrativeLaw DueProcess Punishment Securities Privacy JusticiabilityDoctri
I.
Does California's death penalty statute violate the Fifth,
Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States
Constitution by failing to meaningfully narrow the class of death-eligible
murders?
II.
Does California's death penalty scheme, which permits the
trier of fact to impose a sentence of death without unanimously finding
beyond a reasonable doubt (1) the existence of one or more aggravating
circumstances, (2) that aggravating circumstances outweigh mitigating
circumstances, and (3) that the aggravating circumstances are so
substantial that they warrant death instead of life, violate the
requirement under the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments that
every fact, other than a prior conviction, that serves to increase the
statutory maximum penalty for a crime must be found by a unanimous
jury beyond a reasonable doubt.
Does California's death penalty statute violate the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments?