By Larry . . . NARSOL is excited to announce the filing of an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court in support of Stephen May’s Petition for a Writ of Certiorari. It is important to understand that the Supreme Court declines to hear most cases in which review is sought, which means all petitioners face very long odds. As a result of this reality, very few organizations dedicate resources to supporting such petitions. NARSOL recognizes that this issue is of great public importance and that a positive ruling from the Supreme Court would have a nationwide impact.
The case is May v. Shinn; this is NARSOL’s brief. It focuses on Petitioner May’s third question presented: “Whether trial counsel’s failure to challenge the constitutionality of the Arizona child molestation statute was ineffective assistance of counsel warranting relief under the Sixth Amendment based on the application of Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984).” This case is crucial and impacts so many for the simple reason that the state of Arizona has chosen to shift the burden, requiring the accused to disprove intent for the touching rather than requiring the prosecution to prove criminal intent.
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