Arthur L. Alarcon, LLB - Death Penalty

DEATH PENALTY

Arthur L. Alarcon, LLB Biography
Title:	Senior Judge for the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Position:	Not Clearly Pro or Con to the question "Should the Death Penalty Be Allowed?"
Reasoning:	"Our research has revealed that $4 billion of state and federal taxpayer money has been expended administering the death penalty in California since 1978, with a cost in 2009 of approximately $184 million above what taxpayers would have spent without the death penalty… These totals do not include the additional funds the state is poised to spend to maintain the current broken system... In cases in which a defendant faces a maximum penalty of life without the possibility of parole, rather than the death penalty, there is no penalty phase trial at all. Thus, the government would not incur these costly expenditures if the death penalty were abolished… The costs associated with death penalty trials that took place between 1983 and 2006 averaged about $1 million more per trial than the costs of average non–death penalty homicide trials. This conclusion is also supported by the fact that there are several significant, easily identifiable costs incurred in every death penalty trial that are not incurred in non–death penalty homicide.” Cowritten with Paula M. Mitchell, JD, “Executing the Will of the Voters?: A Roadmap to Mend or End the California Legislature’s Multi-Billion-Dollar Death Penalty Debacle,” Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, June 2011
Theoretical Expertise Ranking:	Experts Individuals with MDs, JDs, PhDs, or equivalent advanced degrees in fields relevant to death penalty issues. Also top-level government officials (such as foreign leaders, US presidents, Founding Fathers, Supreme Court Justices, members of legislative bodies, cabinet members, military leaders, etc.) with positions relevant to death penalty issues.
Involvement and Affiliations:	Senior Judge, Ninth Circuit, US Court of Appeals, 1992-present Recipient, Honorary Doctor of Laws, Southwestern Law School, 2007 Adjunct Professor, Loyola Marymount School of Law, 1993-1994 Adjunct Professor, Southwestern University School of Law, 1985-present Judge, Ninth Circuit, US Court of Appeals, 1979-1992 Associate Justice, California Court of Appeal, 1978-1979 Superior Court Judge, Los Angeles County, 1964-1978 Chairman, Adult Authority (California Parole Board for Adult Men), 1964 Career Executive Secretary, Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, 1962-1964 Legal Advisor, Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, 1961-1962 Director, Special Study Commission on Narcotics, 1960-1961 Deputy District Attorney, Los Angeles County, 1952-1961 Private practice attorney, 1952 Staff Sergeant, 94th Infantry Division, US Army, 1943-1946
Education:	LLB, University of Southern California, 1951 BA, University of Southern California, 1949 Attended UCLA
Other:	Recipient, Purple Heart Recipient, Bronze Star Born Aug. 14, 1925 in Los Angeles, CA Baptized at La Placita Church, Los Angeles, CA Fan of UCLA Bruins football team
Quoted in:	1. Does the Death Penalty Cost Less Than Life in Prison without Parole?

Arthur L. Alarcon, LLB Biography