Tagged: supreme court

Defense Wins by Losing: Supreme Court Overrules Michigan v. Jackson

In a perhaps not-all-that-important decision this morning, the Supreme Court overruled a landmark case involving the Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Although it seems like a big deal, today’s decision doesn’t really seem to change anything. Criminal procedure is not likely to change. The upshot is that the police still...

Supreme Search & Seizure: Court Uses Term to Attack 4th Amendment Absurdities

The Supreme Court took on five Fourth Amendment cases this term. Four have been decided, and the fifth was argued on Tuesday. Although it may be premature to do so before the last decision comes down, we think it’s safe to draw some conclusions about the Court’s jurisprudence here, and...

Supreme Court Undoes Belton, Dramatically Limits Car Searches

In a stunning 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court today reversed its longstanding bright-line rule which had permitted warrantless car searches after an arrest, even when there was no concern for officer safety or the preservation of evidence. The case is Arizona v Gant. Writing for the majority in this important...

Supreme Court Messes Up — Fails to Clarify Misunderstood Miranda

We admit it: we like to skip to the Scalia dissent. Not because we necessarily agree with his philosophy of jurisprudence. But because it’s a good bet to be an entertaining read. Whether he’s dissenting from an expansive activist or a fellow limited-role jurist, he’s good for a bit of...

Supreme Court: If Prosecution Breaches Plea Deal, OBJECT!

Voting 7-2, the Supreme Court today ruled that a defendant cannot appeal when the prosecution reneged on a plea bargain, unless the issue was preserved before the trial court. In his majority opinion for Puckett v. U.S., Justice Scalia cleared up a split among the circuits. There had been differing...

Supreme Court Expands “Stop and Frisk” Authority

On Monday, a unanimous Supreme Court reiterated its rule that a police officer may pat down the passenger of a car that was stopped for a traffic infraction, if the officer has reason to believe the passenger is armed and dangerous. The Court also added that the authority to conduct...

Justices Miss the Point of the Exclusionary Rule

The Bill of Rights, notably Amendments 4-6, protects accused individuals from improper action by the police. The typical remedy for police violation of these rights is suppression of the evidence that would not have been gathered but for the violation. This Exclusionary Rule protects the justice system, by ensuring that...

Will SCOTUS Reopen Question of Discriminatory Application of the Death Penalty?

Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, has suggested to the Washington Post that the Supreme Court may be getting ready to review “whether the death penalty is applied in a discriminatory discriminatory way, an issue the Court has not taken up for two decades.” Dieter drew...