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Article: JUSTICE BREYER'S EXCELLENT DEBUT.(MAIN)
- Article from:
- Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)
- Article date:
- February 27, 1995
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Albany Times Union. 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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Byline: ALAN DERSHOWITZ
Hard cases do not always make bad law, as a recent Supreme Court case demonstrates. Indeed, how we resolve close cases cases in which the judge experiences ``grave doubts'' tells us much about our values as a society. For several years now, the Supreme Court has generally been resolving close questions, even in criminal cases where life hangs in the balance, favorably to the prosecution and against the life of the possibly innocent accused. In several recent cases, particularly from Texas, the high court has permitted the execution of men who were very possibly innocent of the crimes for which they were sentenced to death.