Summary
Unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which overturned a federal district judge's March 2012 ruling that ordered the FDA to confiscate existing stocks of the execution drug sodium thiopental from state departments of corrections. In a lawsuit brought by 25 condemned murderers facing execution in Arizona, California, and Tennessee, the District Court held that thte drug, which is widely used for executions, was illegally obtained from its foreign manufactuterer and had to be confiscated. On November 12, 2012, the Foundation filed an amicus curiae brief with the Court of Appeals, arguing that the district judge's order, which affects dozens of states who were not parties in the case, violates federal rules and the rights of affected states and ignores a fundamental requirement of due process. The court's opinion cited and thanked the CJLF for providing a key argument used in its decision.
