Opinion ID: 1057579
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 29

Heading: the international law and the supremacy clause claim

Text: Mr. Hester contends that his death sentence is unconstitutional under customary international law and pursuant to a variety of treaties to which the United States is bound. He offers no explanation of how any of the treaties or international norms render the State of Tennessee's application of the death penalty unconstitutional. Tenn. R.App. 27(a)(7) requires that arguments contained in an appellant's brief must set forth the contentions of the appellant with respect to the issues presented, and the reasons therefor, including the reasons why the contentions require appellate relief, with citations to the authorities and appropriate references to the record (which may be quoted verbatim) relied on. It is not the responsibility of Tennessee's appellate courts to research or construct the parties' arguments for them. Newcomb v. Kohler Co., 222 S.W.3d 368, 400 (Tenn.Ct.App.2006). A reviewing court may deem an issue waived when a party fails to develop an argument in support of its contention or merely constructs a skeletal argument. Newcomb v. Kohler Co., 222 S.W.3d at 400-01; Childress v. Union Realty Co., 97 S.W.3d 573, 578 (Tenn.Ct.App.2002); Hawkins v. Hart, 86 S.W.3d 522, 531 (Tenn.Ct.App.2001). We have concluded that Mr. Hester has waived this issue because he failed to offer any discussion regarding how the various treaties cited or international norms referenced in his brief render the application of the death penalty in his case unconstitutional. Furthermore, this Court has previously noted that [t]he authorities appear to be universal that no customary or international law or international treaty prohibits a state from imposing the death penalty as a punishment for certain crimes. State v. Odom, 137 S.W.3d at 599 (appendix).