Timeline for How could Congress legally abolish the death penalty in all states?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
10 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 11, 2021 at 17:35 | comment | added | Joshua | @felipa: It wouldn't be too hard to argue that the defendant held himself there by a flood of useless appeals. | |
| Oct 23, 2018 at 1:37 | comment | added | Viktor | @Andy that is certainly possible, but at the same time the SC has already ruled that congress has the right to regulate death penalty cases at least procedurally. My proposal is simply adding procedural requirements, which are a lot different than abolishing it entirely. Most proposals here have been established as valid congressional oversight over the courts through past precedent. | |
| Oct 23, 2018 at 0:15 | comment | added | Andy | Why wouldn't the SC rule any of these new laws as unconstitutional overreaches into state's rights? | |
| Mar 17, 2017 at 20:44 | comment | added | Viktor | (Unless of course the courts rule that sitting too long on death row is torture) | |
| Mar 17, 2017 at 20:44 | comment | added | Viktor | @felipa while congress can pass any law really, it's enforceability may be questionable as the constitution leaves interpreting the constitution up to the judicial branch. A law defining parts of it or adding to it is just a law. Congress was not given authority to legislate on the right punishment or how the punishments are applied for the most part by the states. The exception is if the courts interpret the 13th or 14th or any other part of the constitution to mean something, congress can legislate to further enforce those rights. So most likely this law would not pass constitutional muster. | |
| Mar 17, 2017 at 20:35 | comment | added | Simd | Couldn't congress also pass a law saying that holding someone on death row for more than 5 years, say, was effectively a form of torture and therefore illegal under federal law? Or in other words, how have they made torture illegal in all states? | |
| Nov 5, 2015 at 18:23 | comment | added | Viktor | @Matt you used to have an appeal as of right to the Supreme Court on many issues. Congress can reinstate it. See en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judiciary_Act_of_1891 en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judiciary_Act_of_1925 and en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_Case_Selections_Act additionally, Article 3, Section 2 of the Constitution states: "In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make." Congress can regulate as it wishes. | |
| Nov 5, 2015 at 18:11 | comment | added | Matt | I doubt congress can actually tell the supreme court that it must take certain cases. | |
| Nov 5, 2015 at 16:53 | comment | added | Jon Story | An interesting answer, although this doesn't really "abolish the death penalty" - just makes it very difficult (to the point of being virtually impossible) to enforce. | |
| Nov 5, 2015 at 6:28 | history | answered | Viktor | CC BY-SA 3.0 |