CALIFORNIA (USA): SUPREME COURT HALTS DEATH PENALTY MEASURE

The California Supreme Court has halted implementation of a voter-approved measure intended to speed up the appeals process for Death Row inmates.
The court put Proposition 66 on hold on Tuesday to give it time to consider a lawsuit challenging the measure. The lawsuit says the reform measure would disrupt the courts, cost more money and limit the ability to mount proper appeals. Supporters of the measure have called the lawsuit a frivolous stall tactic. California voters faced two death penalty measures on the November election. They rejected a measure that would have abolished the death penalty and narrowly approved Proposition 66.
In a one-page filing, the court said it was providing “time for further consideration” of the legal challenge and “to permit the filing and consideration of papers in opposition to the petition.” Supporters of Proposition 66 must file their response to the lawsuit by Jan. 9, with the reply from the petitioners due two weeks later.