Legislation, Litigation, Reflection and Repeal: The Legislative Abolition of the Death Penalty in New Jersey

Abstract

Symposium Legislation, Litigation, Reflection & Repeal: the Legislative Repeal of the Death Penalty in New Jersey

April 2008 Seton Hall Law School

Chairman: Hon. James R. Zazzali, Chief Justice, New Jersey Supreme Court (Ret.)

Co-chairs: George W. Conk, Senior Fellow, Stein Center for Law & Ethics, Fordham Law School; Robert J. Martin, Professor, Seton Hall Law School; Lynne Newsome, Esq., President, New Jersey State Bar Association; Stephen Greenwald, Esq., New York City Bar Association Capital Punishment Committee, Stein Center Fellow

Sponsors: Seton Hall Law School; Stein Center for Law & Ethics, Fordham Law School; New Jersey State Bar Association; Capital Punishment Committee, New York City Bar Association

Herald of Change? New Jersey’s Repeal of the Death Penalty ... George W. Conk

Proceedings Call to Order & Welcome Patrick E. Hobbs, Dean, Seton Hall Law School George W. Conk, Stein Center for Law & Ethics, Fordham Law School, Symposium Co-Chairman

Keynote Address... James R. Zazzali, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of New Jersey (Ret.) Symposium Chairman

Panel I: The Struggle in the Courtroom Moderator: Hon. W. Michael Murphy Dale Jones, Assistant Public Defender; William A. Zarling, First Deputy Assistant Prosecutor (Ret.); David A. Ruhnke, Esq.

Panel II: The Death Penalty on Appeal Moderator: Hon. James R. Zazzali, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of New Jersey (Ret.) Hon. Deborah T. Poritz, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of New Jersey (Ret.) James K. Smith, Assistant Public Defender Hon. Alan B. Handler, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of New Jersey (Ret.) Hon. Peter G. Verniero, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of New Jersey (Ret.) Lawrence S. Lustberg, Esq., Gibbons P.C.

Address: Hon. Jon S. Corzine, Governor, State of New Jersey

Legislative Resolution presented to Celeste Fitzgerald, New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, by Senator Raymond J. Lesniak

Panel III: Legislative Moratorium and the Death Penalty Study Commission Moderator: Prof. R. Erik Lillquist, Gibbons Institute, Associate Dean, Seton Hall Law School Celeste Fitzgerald, Director, New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty Kevin D. Walsh, Esq., New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty Hon. James H. Coleman, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of New Jersey (Ret.) Miles S. Winder, III, NJ State Bar Association Member of NJ Death Penalty Study Commission

Panel IV: The Final Act - Repeal - Marshaling the Votes Moderator: Kathy Barrett Carter, Editorial Board member, The Star Ledger Hon. Robert Martin, Sponsor - NJ State Senate, Professor, Seton Hall Law School, Co-chairman Hon. Wilfredo Caraballo, N.J. Assembly Sponsor, Professor, Seton Hall Law School Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, Majority Leader Hon. Christopher “Kip” Bateman, N.J. Assembly Sponsor

Keywords: death penalty, capital punishment, due process, repeal, abolition, legislative repeal, moratorium