The Supreme Court refused to consider whether the 9th U

The Supreme Court refused to consider whether the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals improperly gave Kevin Cooper a last-minute chance to avoid execution. (See February 9) A 3-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco had refused to reopen Cooper's case, but was overruled by an 11-judge panel of the court. California officials argued in an appeal to the Supreme Court that Congress intended 3-judge panels to handle those appeals. Congress did not want "to increase the opportunities for federal courts to engage in protracted inquiries that serve only to undermine the states' interest in finality and the public's confidence in its institutions," justices were told in a filing by Holly Wilkens, deputy state attorney general. The case is Goughnour v. Cooper, 03-1328.