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88 Cornell L. Rev. 257 (2002-2003)
Ten Years of Payne: Victim Impact Evidence in Capital Cases

handle is hein.journals/clqv88 and id is 271 raw text is: TEN YEARS OF PAYNE: VICTIM IMPACT EVIDENCE IN CAPITAL CASES John H. Blumet INTRODUCTION .................................................... 257 I. THE ROAD TO PAYNE ..................................... 258 A. Booth v. M aryland ................................... 258 B. South Carolina v. Gathers ............................. 260 II. PAYNE ..................................................... 262 III. THE LIMITS OF PAYNE ..................................... 266 IV. PAYNE'S APPLICATION IN THE STATE AND FEDERAL COURTS .................................................... 267 A . State Courts ........................................ 268 1. Substantive Considerations ........................ 268 2. What Evidence States Permit ....................... 269 a. Procedural Protections-Notice (or Lack Thereof). 274 b. Pre-Admissibility Hearings ..................... 275 c. Jury Instructions .............................. 275 B. Federal Court ...................................... 277 CONCLUSION-PAYNE MANAGEMENT .............................. 278 INTRODUCTION A little over a decade ago, in Payne v. Tennessee, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for capital sentencing juries to consider victim impact evidence (VIE).I Reversing its prior decisions in Booth v. Ma- ryland2 and South Carolina v. Gathers,3 a six to three majority of the Court held that if the State chooses to permit the admission of victim impact evidence and prosecutorial argument on that subject, the Eighth Amendment erects no per se bar.'4 Part I of this Article will discuss the Court's prior decisions in Booth and Gathers, and Parts II and III will briefly attempt to clarify the parameters of the Payne hold- ing. Part IV of this Article will survey the current legal landscape of state and federal practice regarding the admissibility of VIE and argu- ment. Finally, this Article will offer in conclusion some brief perspec- t Visiting Professor of Law and Director, Cornell Death Penalty Project. 1 501 U.S. 808, 827 (1991). 2 482 U.S. 496 (1987). 3 490 U.S. 805 (1989). 4 Payne, 501 U.S. at 827.

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