Update on California lethal injection challenge lawsuit:  In California, US District Ct. Judge Jeremy Fogel has announced he will need to take a look at California's new lethal injection procedures and new execution chamber after its completion, and also wait for the outcome of an administrative law challenge about how the CA protocol is determined, before allowing executions to resume.  Henry Weinstein has this coverage in the LA Times, entitled "Executions unlikely the rest of the year."  Howard Mintz has this article for the San Jose Mercury News, entitled "S.J. judge plans tour of death chamber."  Bob Egelko has this story in the San Francisco Chronicle, entitled "Execution moratorium extended until fall at least / Judge wants to see death chamber and study procedures."  AP has this coverage, entitled "Judge wants look at new death chamber."

Times excerpt:
It became clear Friday that another execution in California this year is highly unlikely because of ongoing legal challenges to the state's lethal injection procedure.

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel, who has been presiding over those challenges in San Jose federal court, scheduled hearings Oct. 1 and Oct. 2 on challenges to the procedure, filed by condemned inmate Michael Morales and Pacific News Service.

Fogel also said he would not issue rulings on those challenges until a companion lawsuit, which alleges that state officials violated the California Administrative Procedure Act when they devised the execution protocol, is resolved by a Superior Court judge in Marin County. It could take until the end of September for briefings in that case to be completed.

"I don't want to make a decision on this case and then have the state court pull the rug out" by ruling that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation violated state law in devising the protocol. If there was such a decision, it would take about "half a year" for further hearings on a new protocol, Deputy Atty. Gen. Michael Quinn said in court Friday. ...