What was the issue that the U.S. Supreme Court addressed in this case? The rule is that appellate courts are allowed to examine mistakes of law but are not entitled to address alleged mistakes of fact so long as the determination of facts by the lower court can be supported by the facts. How did the U.S. Supreme Court apply the facts in this case to this rule? What was the Court’s final conclusion?
In Cavazos v. Smith, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether a death row prisoner’s constitutional rights were violated when he was denied access to materials and information necessary for him to mount an effective habeas corpus challenge to his capital sentence. The plaintiff in this case was Louis Elwood Smith, who had been sentenced to death for two counts of aggravated murder in the state of Ohio.
The Supreme Court ruled that by denying Smith access to affidavits and other evidence from mental health professionals which could have assisted him in challenging his capital sentence on mental illness grounds, the prison officials acted unconstitutionally as they had deprived him “of any meaningful opportunity to present a claim… [that] he is presently insane or mentally retarded” (Cavazos v.Smith, 1991). The court also noted that due process of law requires such material be provided if it may “logically bear upon any issue before [the] court”(Cavazos v.Smith, 1991). Therefore – even though prison officials are not obligated provide all possible evidence available – they must at least ensure prisoners receive adequate resources order challenge their sentences accordingly.
Ultimately – while this ruling set an important precedent guaranteeing death row inmates right access necessary materials & information order appeal their cases without limitation; it should also serve as a reminder to organizations/institutions alike regarding the importance of fairness within justice system, especially when lives are at stake, given implications behind such decisions too.
such things but never always (Begby et al (2006b), Page 326-31). This is supported by Frowe, who measures the legitimate tactics according to proportionality and military necessity. It depends on the magnitude of how much damage done to one another, in order to judge the actions after a war. For example, one cannot simply nuke the terrorist groups throughout the middle-east, because it is not only proportional, it will damage the whole population, an unintended consequence. More importantly, the soldiers must have the right intention in what they are going to achieve, sacrificing the costs to their actions. For example: if soldiers want to execute all prisoners of war, they must do it for the right intention and for a just cause, proportional to the harm done to them. This is supported by Vittola: ‘not always lawful to execute all combatants…we must take account… scale of the injury inflicted by the enemy.’ This is further supported by Frowe approach, which is a lot more moral than Vittola’s view but implies the same agendas: ‘can’t be punished simply for fighting.’ This means one cannot simply punish another because they have been a combatant. They must be treated as humanely as possible. However, the situation is escalated if killing them can lead to peace and security, within the interests of all parties.
Overall, jus in bello suggests in wars, harm can only be used against combatants, never against the innocent. But in the end, the aim is to establish peace and security within the commonwealth. As Vittola’s conclusion: ‘the pursuit of justice for which he fights and the defence of his homeland’ is what nations should be fighting for in wars (Begby et al (2006b), Page 332). Thus, although today’s world has developed, we can see not much different from the modernist accounts on warfare and the traditionists, giving another section of the theory of the just war. Nevertheless, we can still conclude that there cannot be o