No. 21-782

Rodney Renia Young v. Georgia

Lower Court: Georgia
Docketed: 2021-11-24
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Amici (4)
Tags: burden-of-proof capital-punishment constitutional-rights due-process eighth-amendment intellectual-disability state-law
Key Terms:
AdministrativeLaw DueProcess FirstAmendment Punishment HabeasCorpus
Latest Conference: 2022-02-25
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Does requiring a capital defendant to prove his intellectual disability beyond a reasonable doubt violate the Due Process Clause and the Eighth Amendment?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED Georgia requires persons with intellectual disability to prove their disability ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ in order to vindicate their Eighth Amendment right to be free from execution. It is the only state to do so. Georgia’s onerous burden is an extreme outlier not merely on the issue of intellectual disability; to petitioner’s knowledge, no other state, in any other context, requires an individual to prove the factual predicate for any constitutional right beyond a reasonable doubt. Under this standard, Georgia will execute capital defendants who are more likely than not intellectually disabled. Indeed, it will even execute those who establish by clear and convincing evidence that they are intellectually disabled. The questions presented are: (1) Does requiring a capital defendant to prove his intellectual disability beyond a reasonable doubt violate the Due Process Clause by creating an unacceptable risk that a constitutional right will go unenforced? (2) Does requiring a capital defendant to prove his intellectual disability beyond a reasonable doubt violate the Eighth Amendment by creating an unacceptable risk that an intellectually disabled person will be executed? i

Docket Entries

2022-02-28
Petition DENIED.
2022-02-09
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/25/2022.
2022-02-08
Reply of petitioner Rodney Renia Young filed. (Distributed)
2022-01-26
Brief of respondent Georgia in opposition filed.
2021-12-27
Brief amici curiae of Disability Rights Legal Center, et al. filed.
2021-12-27
Brief amici curiae of Rutherford Institute, et al. filed.
2021-12-23
Brief amici curiae of Charles Fried and Seth P. Waxman filed.
2021-12-23
Brief amici curiae of Elsa R. Alcala, et al. filed.
2021-12-17
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including January 26, 2022.
2021-12-15
Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 27, 2021 to January 26, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
2021-11-22
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 27, 2021)

Attorneys

Charles Fried and Seth P. Waxman
Rachel Gabriella ShalevOrrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Amicus
Disability Rights Legal Center, National Disability Rights Network, Center For Public Representation, Georgia Advocacy Office, Stephen N. Xenakis, James R. Merikangas, and Steven Eidelman
Donald B. Verrilli Jr.Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, Amicus
Elsa R. Alcala, Donald B. Ayer, Robert J. Cleary, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Norman S. Fletcher, James E.C. Perry, Larry Thompson, and Beth Wilkinson
Kathleen Roberta HartnettCooley LLP, Amicus
Rodney Renia Young
Brian William StullACLU Capital Punishment Project, Petitioner
State of Georgia
Patricia Beth BurtonState Law Department, Respondent
The Rutherford Institute, Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty and Brett Harrell
Caitlin Joan HalliganSelendy & Gay PLLC, Amicus