Law Clinic Aids in Decision Overturning Death Penalty

Boalt Hall's Death Penalty Clinic played a leading role in Monday's Supreme Court decision overturning the conviction and death sentence of Thomas Miller-El for a 1985 murder.  As amicus, writing on behalf of judges and former prosecutors, the clinic argued that the prosecution in Miller-El's trial had systematically discriminated against prospective jurors who were African-American. 

Says Prof. Elisabeth Semel, (pictured below (left) with student Sarah Ray (middle) and Prof. Charles Wiesselberg (right)),the case will have "a system wide impact" in more sharply defining the Supreme Court's thinking about the issue of potential racial discrimination in jury selection.  The clinic's high impact amicus brief was developed by the students, professors, and the Washington D.C. law firm Sidley Austin Brown & Wood. Get the full story on the clinic's website.