Post-Conviction
High Court Says Gov’t Must Pay for Clemency Counsel
Posted Apr 1, 2009, 09:30 am CST
By Molly McDonough
In a 7-2 opinion Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the government should pay federally appointed lawyers for working on state clemency requests for death row inmates.
The underlying case involved a clemency petition by Edward Jerome Harbison, who wanted the government to pay for his petition to the governor of Tennessee. But the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against his request.
Writing for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens reversed, saying federal law "authorizes federally appointed counsel to represent their clients in state clemency proceedings and entitles them to compensation for that representation," according to reports by the Associated Press and SCOTUSblog.
Justice Antonin Scalia filed an opinion concurring in part, dissenting in part, joined by Justice Samuel Alito.
Lower courts split on the question, with some saying federal public defenders could also get taxpayer dollars for working on state clemency petitions and others banning the practice, the AP reports.
Read the opinion here (PDF).
Also See:
ABAJournal.com: "Scalia Questions Breyer During ‘Testy’ Supreme Court Argument"