U.S. Supreme Court
All of our lawyers are admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and are available not only to handle cases in that Court, but also to consult or co-counsel with other attorneys with cases that may end up there. We have substantial experience preparing petitions for writs of certiorari and opposing them.
In 2006, the firm was retained by the family of Terrance Graham to appeal his life sentence for armed burglary. We argued that the sentence of life without parole was unconstitutional because Terrance was an adolescent when he engaged in conduct that did not take a life. However, his sentence condemned him to die in prison and determine that he was forever unfit to live in society & forever incapable of reform. The state appellate court unanimously rejected this argument. Graham v. State, 982 So. 2d 43 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008). The firm took it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2009, the Supreme Court granted review, and we argued what became one of the highest profile cases in the Court that term.
Bryan S. Gowdy Interview with Nina Totenberg
Selected Press Clippings
Local Law Firm Wins Landmark U.S. Supreme Court Decision
The Daily Record - Jacksonville, Florida - May 18, 2010
Supreme Court Decides Juvenile Life Terms are Unconstitutional for Some
Florida Times-Union - May 17, 2010
At Supreme Court, No Accord Over Life Sentences for Juveniles
Christian Science Monitor - November 10, 2009
High Court Torn on juvenile Sentencing
USA Today - November 9, 2009
Justices Consider the Role of Age in Life Sentences
New York Times - November 9, 2009
Graham v. Florida
(Case No. SC08-7412)
In May 2010, the Supreme Court of the United States, the Court ruled that our client's sentence of life without parole was unconstitutional. In that ruling, the Court held that the Eighth Amendment ban on "cruel and unusual punishments" means that no person may be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for a non-homicide crime committed while he or she was a juvenile.
In addition to being represented by all attorneys in our firm (Bryan S. Gowdy, Rebecca Bowen Creed, and Jessie L. Harrell), Mr. Graham was also represented before the U.S. Supreme Court by Drew S. Days, III, Brian R. Matsui, Seth M. Galanter, and George C. Harris of Morrison & Foerster LLP.
We are grateful to the many organizations and people who have supported Mr. Graham's case, including those who filed fourteen amicus briefs in support of Mr. Graham. Those briefs can be located at the SCOTUS WIKI website link below. Additional information regarding the case can be located at the links provided below.
United States Supreme Court
Summary of Merits Brief of Petitioner
Florida First District Court of Appeal
Other Links
Counties in Florida where juvenile non-homicide offenders have been sentenced to life without parole
Juvenile Life without Parold for Non-Homicide Offenses: Florida Compared to Nation (Sept. 14, 2009)
National Distribution of Juvenile Offenders Serving Life Without Parole for Non-Homicide Offenses
National Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth
Contesting Juvenile Confessions by a Tampa Criminal Attorney