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Article: A rarefied kind of dread. (First Arguments at the Supreme Court of the United States)
- Article from:
- Journal of Appellate Practice and Process
- Article date:
- March 22, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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There's always anxiety involved in representing death-row inmates. But when the Supreme Court grants certiorari in a death-sentenced client's case, nightmare scenarios begin to loom.
Of course, there's the fear of losing, and in a capital case, that's no small matter. But if the legal claim that the Supreme Court has agreed to consider seems very strong, you're likely to encounter a different, more rarefied kind of dread. After all, your claim only seems strong because Supreme Court precedent suggests that you're going to win. But what if the Court took your case not simply to apply its own precedents (as you claim the lower courts had boneheadedly refused to ...