MATTER OF HYNES v. Tomei

OPINION OF THE COURT

Chief Judge Kaye.

Thirty years ago, the United States Supreme Court struck down the death penalty provision of the Federal Kidnaping Act (18 USC § 1201 [a]), which allowed a defendant to be sentenced to death only after a jury trial. The Supreme Court invalidated the provision because, by needlessly encouraging guilty pleas and jury waivers to avoid death sentences, it impermissibly burdened defendants’ Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial (United States v Jackson, 390 US 570). Despite the passage of three decades, a…