Docket Number: 97-9361
Appealed From: U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit
Subjects: Criminal sentencing and jury instruction; effects of non-statutory aggravating factors

At Issue: Whether jury instructions must make clear that, if the jury cannot unanimously decide whether to give life imprisonment or a death sentence, the judge will impose life without possibility of parole.

Decision: The court ruled that under the new federal death penalty, jurors considering punishment for a murderer need not be told that if they fail to agree on a death sentence or life imprisonment, the judge will mandate a life sentence rather than some lesser penalty.

• The full text of the Jones v. United States decision is available at the FindLaw Internet Legal Resources Web site.

• The full text of the 1998 from the 5th Circuit, United States v. Jones, is also available at FindLaw.

Sources: The Washington Post, Supreme Court, The United States Law Week (a Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. publication)