The Supreme Court on Thursday in Hemphill v. New York sided with a criminal defendant who said his Sixth Amendment rights were violated at a trial during which he was convicted of murder.
The issue is whether Hemphill “opened the door” at his trial to the use of evidence that would normally be barred by the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause (view previous coverage).
The Supreme Court will hear argument on Tuesday in an important case on the rights of criminal defendants under the Sixth Amendment’s confrontation clause. Specifically, the court will determine in Hemphill v.
The Supreme Court granted cert in Hemphill v. New York on Monday. Rules of evidence protect criminal defendants from the introduction of certain prejudicial types of evidence in the prosecution’s case-in-chief, such as evidence of a defendant’s violent character.
The Eighth Circuit on Monday said the government can't collect inmates' prison wages to satisfy victim restitution orders, agreeing with two other appeals court opinions and vacating a lower court order to seize $5,500 from an Arkansas prisoner's trust account (access full article).
North Carolina single mother of two leaving the courtroom after attending her boyfriend's plea hearing exclaims "piece of shit!" as she leaves the courtroom. The magistrate judge calls her to the bench, immediately holds a two-minute hearing, declares her guilty of criminal contempt, and sentences her to ten days in jail, to begin immediately. She's ultimately confined for 13 days due to "an error." District court: That's fine. Fourth Circuit: Definitely not fine.
Kansas woman pleads guilty without plea agreement to her charge. District court, in deciding what sentence to impose, states when there is no plea agreement, the sentence will be somewhere in the middle of the Guidelines range. Woman: objection! That is not a valid basis. District court: Objection overruled. Here's a sentence above the low-end of the Guidelines range based on my practice. Circuit Court: Not good.
In state court news, the Supreme Court of Maryland rifles through the evidence and shoots down firearm experts' striking claims that they can link a certain bullet to a particular gun. Henceforth, such claims will trigger significant scrutiny, and, if an expert that tries to claim more than what the evidence supports, courts should rightfully go ballistic. New trial ordered.
This morning, a 7-2 divided Supreme Court decided Counterman v. Colorado, No. 22-138 (June 27, 2023), holding that the government must prove in true-threats cases that the defendant had some subjective understanding of his statements’ threatening nature, but the First Amendment requires no more demanding a showing than recklessness. Justice Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court, joined by Chief Justice Roberts, and Justices Alito, Kavanaugh, Jackson.
SCOTUS Rejects First Amendment Challenge to Inducing Illegal Immigration
This morning, a 6 to 3 divided Supreme Court issued a significant decision in Jones v. Hendrix, No. 21-857 (June 22, 2023), limiting the availability of habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 for federal prisoners. Justice Thomas wrote the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice Roberts, and Justices Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett. Justices Sotomayor and Kagan filed a short dissenting opinion, and Justice Jackson filed a lengthy dissenting opinion.