Court Opinion

ID: 9480757
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 07:57:30.785805+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:47:53.247505
License: Public Domain

*942ARNOLD, Circuit Judge,
with whom JOHN R. GIBSON, Circuit Judge, joins, dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. In my view, we should grant the three pending motions for leave to file briefs amicus curiae. This is a death case. Such cases command our attention and careful study in a unique way. Life — anyone’s life — is a transcendent value, and there is no graver or more important judicial function than deciding matters of life and death. In this situation, we ought not close our ears to any responsible voices, whether or not we agree with what they are saying.
Here, the voices are unquestionably responsible. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the American Civil Liberty Union of Western Missouri, and the Missouri Capital Punishment Resource Center all have substantial experience and expert knowledge in the field of death-penalty law. We are not required to accept their arguments on the merits, but we should give them respectful consideration. Refusing them leave even to file briefs is inconsistent with this duty.
I have read each of the briefs which the Court today refuses to consider. They have not persuaded me to change my mind on the merits. The Court en banc has held, with ample support in Missouri law, that there was insufficient evidence to justify the submission of a felony-murder instruction. Accordingly, Williams cannot prevail on this issue, whatever backings and fillings the Missouri Supreme Court might have engaged in in order to preserve judgments in criminal cases. Thus, I agree with the Court that the petition for rehearing en banc should be denied, but I would take this action only after allowing the amicus briefs to be filed.