OTHER CASES High court actions
The court also handled other issues Monday:
Shackles: The court tossed out the death sentence of a Missouri man, ruling that it is unconstitutional to shackle capital murder defendants as juries decide their penalty unless the state justifies the need. The decision is expected to have implications nationwide, as attorneys challenge the sentences of clients who were chained in view of the jury. Carman Deck was sentenced to death for the execution-style murder of James and Zelma Long after he robbed the elderly couple in their home near De Soto, Mo., in 1996. During the penalty phase of Deck's state trial two years ago, he was in leg irons, handcuffs and a belly chain. The 7-2 majority opinion was written by Justice Stephen Breyer, who said shackling implies to jurors that the defendant is "a danger to the community" -- thus affecting their perception of him as they decide his fate. Death penalty: The court turned away an appeal that contended 51 Mexicans on U.S. death row were improperly denied legal help, avoiding a dispute over whether international law is binding on American courts. The 5-4 decision dismissed the case of Jose Medellin, who argued he was entitled to a federal court hearing on whether his rights were violated when a Texas court tried and sentenced him to death in 1994 on rape and murder charges.
Beef: The government can make cattle ranchers pay for ads proclaiming "Beef: It's what's for dinner," the court ruled. Some ranchers object to paying for the ad campaigns because they don't like the generic message that all beef -- American or imported -- is good.
Source: Combined dispatches