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Senate approves bill to speed capital-felony proceedings and align court rules after extended debate
Summary
The Senate approved first substitute H.B. 495, which sponsors said will speed up capital-felony cases by changing prescreening, appeal and post-conviction procedures, increasing counsel compensation, and coordinating court-rule amendments. The bill drew lengthy debate on legal safeguards and timing.
The Utah Senate passed first substitute House Bill 495 after extended debate about how to balance speedy resolution of capital-felony cases with constitutional and evidentiary safeguards.
Senator McKay, the Senate sponsor, described the legislation as a comprehensive package intended to eliminate unnecessary delays in capital cases and to coordinate statutory changes with amendments to court rules. "This bill seeks to eliminate unnecessary delays in capital cases," McKay told the chamber. He outlined measures that would require early prescreening for intellectual disability, limit direct-appeal claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in capital cases (shifting those claims to post-conviction petitions), clarify appointment timelines for post-conviction counsel, increase compensation and litigation expense allowances…
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