TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Oct 8, 2024

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday reversed a May 2023 ruling by Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan, declaring that a law removing all postconviction death penalty proceedings from local district attorneys is constitutional. The Commercial Appeal reports that the court's ruling focused on who initiates an action during a case. For example, it found that locally elected district attorneys have broad discretion in cases they initiate, but because these collateral review proceedings are initiated by a defendant on death row, that discretion is narrowed. The paper also noted that prosecutorial discretion is vastly limited after a defendant has been indicted by a grand jury.