Measure to eliminate the death penalty in California qualifies for November ballot

As we have mentioned, a proposed ballot measure seeks to end the death penalty in California. If it passed, the measure would substantially reduce the Supreme Court’s heavy criminal case load, as the Court no longer would be constitutionally required to devote a substantial portion of its resources to automatic appeals from judgments of death. Yesterday, as reported here, here and elsewhere, that measure took a major step forward, as it qualified for the November ballot. The measure is also discussed in this piece in the Atlantic.