Professor key in Supreme Court case

UNM faculty and students played a key role in the Supreme Court’s recent decision to bar the execution of mentally retarded inmates.

UNM law professor James Ellis was a major component in the legal victory. He assisted in preparing the legal brief and delivered the oral argument before the Supreme Court Justices. Also contributing to the case and brief were UNM law professors April Land, Michael Browde and Christian Fritz.

Ellis said between six and 12 students assisted in writing the brief, but only three of those students were able to attend the argument before the Supreme Court. Ellis was unable to name which students attended the argument or contributed to the brief.

“We had a number of students work on the briefing, so that they have an opportunity to see how the Supreme Court works,” Ellis said.

The question of cruel and unusual punishment for mentally retarded criminals began with McCarver v. North Carolina, another case in which Ellis contributed. The case was slated to appear before the Supreme Court, but the North Carolina Legislature passed legislation to prohibit the execution of an inmate with an IQ below 70, thereby making any action taken in the case by the Supreme Court moot.

The Supreme Court then agreed to hear the case of Atkins v. Virginia. The defendant’s lawyers asked Ellis to join the team because of his experience in McCarver v. North Carolina and because of his history of helping mentally retarded inmates.

Daryl Atkins was on death row for a 1996 murder. He has a reported IQ of 59.

The decision is one of the most significant restrictions placed on the death penalty since the court reinstated capital punishment in 1976. The decision is retroactive, which caused the court to issue stays of execution for inmates that could be affected by the ruling. Although it is now unconstitutional to execute mentally retarded criminals nation wide, procedures for defining what mental retardation is must now be devised according to each state’s laws.

Nearly 300 out of 3,700 death row inmates nation wide could be affected by the decision, according to Human Right Watch, a national organization opposed to the death penalty.

For Ellis, the road to the Supreme Court began when he worked in a mental health hospital after graduating from law school at the University of California at Berkeley.

“I stayed with it because people with disabilities have asked me to represent them,” Ellis said.

Ellis was president of the American Association of Mental Retardation and a law reporter for the A.B.A. Criminal Justice Standards project.

Ellis has attended more than 100 Supreme Court arguments and said he was familiar with the court’s proceedings.

“I go to arguments a lot because I teach constitutional law,” he said. “There was nothing surprising in the questions.”

After spending more than 12 years on similar cases, Ellis said the experience was gratifying.

“Now we have to focus on implementation and procedure, for who is entitled to Atkins v. Virginia,” he said.

UNM law school dean Robert Desiderio said the case is great for UNM.

“(Ellis) has been an outstanding teacher,” Desiderio said. “I think this will bring attention to what a great school we have here.”