Ayers v. Belmontes

United States Supreme Court decision reinstating the death sentence of a California man who, in 1981, beat a 19-year-old girl to death with a metal bar while burglarizing her home. The Court's decision overturned a 2005 Ninth Circuit ruling which announced that the instructions given to the murderer's sentencing jury 25 years ago were unconstitutional. CJLF joined the review of that ruling to argue that two prior Supreme Court decision (both won by CJLF) held that the jury instructions were proper. The Court held that they were. [CJLF brief in PDF.]