[Ppnews] Supreme Court Developments Concerning Mumia Abu-Jamal

[Political Prisoner News]

Legal Update



Date:       October 18, 2008

From:      Robert R. Bryan, lead counsel, San Francisco

Subject:  U.S. Supreme Court developments concerning Mumia Abu-Jamal, death row

U.S. Supreme Court  There are new developments in the case of my 
client, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is on Pennsylvania's death row, that are 
the most significant and deadly since his 1981 arrest.  The 
prosecution has advised the Supreme Court that it is seeking reversal 
of the federal decision which ordered a new jury trial on the 
question of the death penalty.  Earlier I made an appearance in the 
court on our ongoing effort to win an entirely new jury trial on the 
issue of innocence, so that Mumia can be freed.

We are now at the crossroads of the case.  This is a life and death 
struggle in the fight for Mumia's freedom.  His life hangs in the 
balance.  The following are details as to what has been occurring in 
the Supreme Court.

Abu-Jamal v. Beard, U.S. Sup. Ct. No. 08A299  On October 3, I filed 
in the Supreme Court a Motion for Extension of Time To File Petition 
for Writ of Certiorari.  Justice David H. Souter granted the motion 
on October  9.  The Petition is now due on December 19, 2008.

The issues I will be presenting on behalf of Mumia include racism in 
jury selection and the prosecutor's misrepresentations to the jury 
during the guilt phase of the 1982 trial.  These were denied last 
spring by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 
Philadelphia.  Abu-Jamal v. Horn, 520 F.3d 272 (3rd Cir. 2008).  The 
court was split 2-1 on the racism question.

The prosecution's use of racism in selecting the jury is a strong 
issue because of the powerful dissenting opinion by Judge Thomas L. 
Ambro.  In voting that relief should be granted, he wrote that 
"[e]xcluding even a single person from a jury because of race 
violates the Equal Protection Clause of our Constitution" and 
concluded that "everyone is entitled to a fair and impartial trial by 
a jury of his or her peers."

A major problem we have encountered is that Mumia's previous lawyers 
neither developed essential evidence nor raised some issues of 
constitutional significance.  Such failings are inexcusable.  For 
example his attorneys during the period 1994-2001, failed to even get 
the racial composition of the panel from which the jury was 
selected.  They had the jurors' names and addresses, and could have 
gone out and obtained this information in a day.  Once the case went 
up on appeal it was too late to introduce this crucial evidence which 
would have established beyond question that African-Americans were 
underrepresented on the jury panel and that the prosecution used 
discriminatory racial practices in jury selection.  Justice Ambro 
pointed out in his dissent that this deficiency should not serve as a 
basis to deny relief in view of the other evidence we have of 
prosecutorial racism.  Another issue concerning the judge's racism 
and prejudice at trial was doomed from the start because it was not 
even presented by the previous lawyers.  Rather, they only argued 
that the judge was unfair 13 years later at a 1995 evidentiary 
hearing.  It was an incompetent mistake that waived this strong 
issue.  Sadly, Mumia is bound by the errors of those lawyers.

Beard v. Abu-Jamal, U.S. Sup. Ct. No. 08A315  The Philadelphia 
District Attorney is seeking reversal of the federal court decision 
which granted a new jury trial on the question of the death 
penalty.  Their intent is to see Mumia executed.  That was announced 
in an extension motion filed in the Supreme Court.  The court ordered 
on October 14 that the government petition must be filed by November 
19, 2008.  We will then submit briefing in opposition to the death 
penalty arguments.

Abu-Jamal v. Pennsylvania, U.S. Sup. Ct. No. 08-5456  In a ruling not 
related to the present litigation, the Supreme Court on October 6 
issued an order denying the petition we had filed seeking review of a 
decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.  That concerned the 
denial of a new trial based upon the fact that the prosecution 
persuaded witnesses to lie in order to obtain a conviction and death 
judgment against my client.  This arises from adverse rulings by the 
Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the Philadelphia Court of Common 
Pleas.  The District Attorney successfully argued that Mumia's 
previous lawyers had failed to raise the misconduct issues in a 
timely manner.  Even though this evidence of fraud is not before the 
Supreme Court, I will certainly be able to use it at a new jury trial.

Donations for Mumia's Legal Defense  Due to the developments in the 
Supreme Court, the legal defense for Mumia is in dire need of 
funds.  The legal costs will likely reach $100,000.  To help, please 
make your checks payable to the "National Lawyers Guild Foundation" 
(indicate "Mumia" on the bottom left).  These donations to Mumia's 
defense are tax deductible, and should be mailed to:

Committee To Save Mumia Abu-Jamal

P.O. Box 2012

New York, NY 10159-2012



Conclusion  More activism and support is needed in the campaign to 
free Mumia from the death penalty and prison.  It is an affront to 
civilized standards and international law that he remains in prison 
and on death row.  We must have hope and fight for justice.



Yours very truly,



Robert R. Bryan

Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan

2088 Union Street, Suite 4

San Francisco, California 94123-4117



Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal

<mailto:RobertRBryan at aol.com>RobertRBryan at aol.com



Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org  
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