Editing Ken Starr (section)

=== Death penalty cases ===
In 2005, Starr worked to overturn the death sentence of [[Robin Lovitt]], who was on [[Virginia]]'s [[death row]] for murdering a man during a robbery in 1998.<ref name=robin>{{cite web| url= https://www.americanbar.org/groups/committees/death_penalty_representation/publications/success-stories/success-stories-archive/robin-lovitt/|title=Robin Lovitt|website=American Bar|accessdate=September 13, 2022| archive-date= October 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021152511/https://www.americanbar.org/groups/committees/death_penalty_representation/publications/success-stories/success-stories-archive/robin-lovitt|url-status=live}}</ref> Starr provided his services to Lovitt [[pro bono]].<ref name=robin/> On October 3, 2005, the Supreme Court denied [[certiorari]].<ref name=robin/>

On January 26, 2006, the defense team of convicted murderer [[Michael Morales]] (which included Starr) sent letters to [[Governor of California|California governor]] [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] requesting clemency for Morales.<ref name="elias">{{cite news |url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/01/27/state/n172048S85.DTL |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080328035349/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fn%2Fa%2F2006%2F01%2F27%2Fstate%2Fn172048S85.DTL |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 28, 2008 |title=Ken Starr asks governor to spare condemned killer |last=Elias |first=Paul |date=January 27, 2006 |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |publisher=Hearst Communications Inc. |access-date=June 25, 2009 }}</ref> Letters purporting to be from the jurors who determined Morales's death sentence were included in the package sent to Schwarzenegger. Prosecutors alleged that the documents were [[forgery|forgeries]], and accused investigator and anti-death penalty activist Kathleen Culhane of falsifying the documents.<ref name="elias"/> Lead defense attorney David Senior and his team soon withdrew the documents.<ref name="elias"/> Ultimately, clemency was denied, but the falsified documents were not used in the rationale.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2006%2F02%2F18%2FBAG12HB6LO1.DTL |work=The San Francisco Chronicle |title=Governor turns down killer's bid for clemency / Morales running out of options as Tuesday's execution nears |access-date=December 19, 2013 |archive-date=April 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417042655/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2006%2F02%2F18%2FBAG12HB6LO1.DTL |url-status=live }}</ref> Eventually, Culhane was criminally charged with forging the documents and, under a plea agreement, was sentenced to five years in prison.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-aug-17-me-culhane17-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |first=Louis |last=Sahagun |title=Death penalty foe gets five years in prison |date=August 17, 2007 |access-date=December 19, 2013 |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306132350/http://articles.latimes.com/2007/aug/17/local/me-culhane17 |url-status=live }}</ref>