Can a short and factual amicus brief persuade someone that the Constitution permits capital punishment for crimes committed at the age of 16 and 17? If press coverage of the Supreme Court argument in Roper v. Simmons is any indication, this brief is the one to read to find out. It was written by my law school classmate (and former Souter clerk) Kevin Newsom, now the Solicitor General of Alabama.
At least one blogger is among the converted. In a post titled The Winning Brief, Crime & Federalism explains that the Alabama brief changed his mind:
Alabama’s Solictor General . . . puts forth the most compelling argument for giving juries the ability to sentence young people to death that I have ever seen. . . .
. . .
If Justice Kennedy (or Justice O’Connor) finds that the Eighth Amendment does not prohibit executing people for crimes committed while young, I would not only understand him, but I would agree. I changed my mind. And I did so because of one man’s writing.
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