Appellate Court Case Highlights
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Heck Van Tran v. State of Tennessee.
In this pre-Atkins case, the Supreme Court of Tennessee recognized that
the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I,
Section 16 of the Tennessee Constitution prohibited execution of the
mentally retarded. This was a landmark decision wherein the Court
declared that the death penalty, when applied to the mentally retarded,
was constitutionally prohibited as cruel and unusual punishment. Van Tran
was cited as supporting authority by the United States Supreme Court in
the Atkins opinion. Brock Mehler and I were counsel of record on appeal.