MUMIA'S NEW LEGAL SITUATION
This is a most critical moment in the whole appeals process. A federal district judge in Philadelphia [William H. Yohn] is being asked to hold a hearing on Mumia's petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
A motion for habeas corpus (Latin for "let's have the body") comes from English common law, where it was an appeal to a court to review whether the King's detention of somebody was legal. In granting the motion, the court told the King's sheriff to "bring the body" into court and justify why you are holding him. This practice developed into a procedure in the US by which federal courts are asked to review criminal convictions by state courts. What it means in practice is that state governments do not have an absolute right to take away a person's freedom or life.
So why would a hearing be so important?
Up to this point, all hearings have been in the Pennsylvania state court system and presided over by Judge Sabo. Sabo routinely denied motions for discovery and denied subpoenas for key witnesses sought by the defense. Sabo's actions were then approved by the Pennsylvania Supreme, most of whose justices are endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police.
Thus a hearing in federal district court will be Mumia's FIRST real opportunity to have the evidence heard and reviewed. It will also be Mumia's LAST opportunity to present the evidence and witnesses denied by the Pennsylvania court system. After the federal district court, all higher federal appeals courts will only review transcripts--they will not hear any new evidence.
What is the effect of the new federal laws on death penalty appeals?
The danger is this: the federal district judge who gets this case is not required to grant Mumia a hearing. He could simply read the Pennsylvania trial transcripts and issue a ruling. In fact, the 1996 Effective Death Penalty Act (EDPA) is specifically designed to discourage federal courts from reviewing and overturning death sentences handed down in the state courts. This is why public action for Mumia is so important. The government has to hear a loud popular demand for a hearing, so the evidence can be heard that would justify a new trial for Mumia. What the Effective Death Penalty Act attempts to do is to repeal the federal right of habeas corpus. Under the signboard of "federalism," both this new law and recent rulings by the US Supreme Court are attempting to make decisions by state courts final, and far less subject to federal review. "Federalism" is just a new name for the old doctrine of "states rights" that attempted to prevent any federal review of white supremacist courts in the South. Such federal review was a major gain of the Civil Rights Movement, which the government is now seeking to reverse. This has to be called out and exposed.
What is the effect of the Supreme Court's turning down Mumia's appeal on October 4?
Earlier this year, Mumia's legal team also petitioned the US Supreme Court for a "writ of certiorari." This is a request to the Supreme Court to look at the case before it works its way up through the normal habeas corpus process. Sometimes the Supreme Court will do this, when an important legal question is presented. In Mumia's case, the Supreme Court was asked to consider whether it was constitutional to deny him the right to act as his own attorney and to bar him from the court room when he protested this denial. In denying this petition, the Supreme Court was saying that it would not consider these issues now--the case will have to go through the federal district court and the circuit court of appeals first. The US Supreme Court did NOT rule against Mumia on merit of the issues he raised.
What happens if the federal district judge denies Mumia a new trial (denies habeas corpus)?
If the judge at the federal district court level rules against him, Mumia will then appeal to the federal 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. But if the judge rules in favor of Mumia, the state of Pennsylvania is sure to appeal to the 3rd Circuit Court. So there will be two rounds of federal court action in Philadelphia over the next year (the district court and the circuit court of appeals).
In general, action in the federal courts will go much faster than it did in the state courts. Thus we are now entering the final phase of the battle to save Mumia's life. This is why we must proceed with a greater sense of urgency and determination.