Petitions of the week

Issue:Whether a criminal defendant is deprived of his Sixth and 14th Amendment right to conflict-free counsel when his lawyer is paid by a third party; the third party threatens to withhold payment unless the lawyer conducts the defense in a manner that serves the third partys interests; the lawyer does not inform his client or the court of the conflict; and the lawyer in fact conducts the defense in a manner that serves the third-party payers interests and sacrifices the clients interests.

Issues:(1) Whether certain of the aggravating circumstances used by Idaho to determine whether a defendant may be sentenced to deaththose that ask whether the crime was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity; whether the defendant exhibited utter disregard for human life; and whether the defendant has exhibited a propensity to commit murderfail to provide sentencing juries with constitutionally adequate guidance; and (2) whether Idahos felony-murder aggravating circumstance, which substantially duplicates Idahos felony-murder statute, violates the constitutional requirement that Idaho sufficiently narrow the class of persons subject to the death penalty.

Issue:Whether the use of a name, without more, constitutes the use of a means of identification of another person under 18 U.S.C. 1028A.