#SCOTUS

Kate Van Allen

Mar 4, 2019
2 min

SCOTUS Update: Bucklew v. Precythe

The death penalty has reserved a frequent spot in the Supreme Court docket; the most recent case in 2014 addressed botched injections. On November 6, 2018, legal injection returned to the Court in Bucklew v. Precythe. This case presents a unique question – what should a state do when a normally painless procedure could cause immense pain and suffering to an individual inmate? Russell Bucklew, an inmate on Missouri’s death row, suffers from a very rare congenital medical condi

SCOTUS Sets Lethal Precedent: The Case of Domineque Ray

Caroline Koch

Feb 25, 2019
3 min

SCOTUS Sets Lethal Precedent: The Case of Domineque Ray

Correctional facilities’ attempt to balance security and inmates’ constitutional rights often skews in favor of security. However, in a country that prides itself on religious freedom, Domineque Ray’s religious discrimination within the death chamber raises uncomfortable constitutional questions. In 1994, Ray murdered two brothers, Earnest and Reinhard Mabins. While still undetected for their murders, in 1995, Ray brutally raped and murdered fifteen-year-old Tiffany Harville

Supreme Court Extends Fourth Amendment Protection to Cell Phone Location Data

Alex Raby

Feb 11, 2019
7 min

Supreme Court Extends Fourth Amendment Protection to Cell Phone Location Data

The Supreme Court ruled (by 5-4 majority decision) that the revealing nature of CSLI data invokes a “reasonable expectation of privacy” (within the meaning of Katz v. United States). The Supremes held that Cell Site Location Information (CSLI) has such a “comprehensive” and “revealing nature” that any examination of CSLI data by law enforcement amounts to SEARCH. (Carpenter v. United States, 138 S. Ct. 2206, 2223). Now law enforcement may only gain access to this informati

Abigail Forth

Nov 18, 2018
6 min

SCOTUS Update: Garza v. Idaho

On October 30, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral argument in Garza v. Idaho. In this case, the petitioner, Gilberto Garza, Jr., is an Idaho inmate who pled guilty to aggravated assault and possession of a controlled substance pursuant to two plea agreements in 2015. The plea agreements included a waiver of his right to appeal. At the sentence hearing, “the court acknowledged the appeal waiver, but also told Garza about his right to appeal and have a lawy

Spencer Griffin

Nov 14, 2018
3 min

Forgiveness for Those Who Forget

The Eighth Amendment reads, “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” This seemingly straightforward sentence is being reexamined by the Supreme Court in Madison v. Alabama. The Court is tasked with deciding if the prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishments” includes executing a man who cannot remember committing the crime. The State of Alabama is attempting to execute Vernon Madison, a sixty-seve

Death by Blood Asphyxiation, Felon-enhanced Sentences for “Slight Resistance”, and more SCOTUS Cases

Stephanie Lauria

Oct 15, 2018
4 min

Death by Blood Asphyxiation, Felon-enhanced Sentences for “Slight Resistance”, and more SCOTUS Cases

As the fall semester begins for students, October brings the beginning of another Supreme Court session. The Supreme Court has original—the first and only court to hear the case—and appellate jurisdiction—authority to review decisions of lower courts—in regard to hearing cases. Appellate jurisdiction is specifically extended to those who petition the Supreme Court to hear their case; jurisdiction is granted to those who file Writs of Certiorari and to which four Justices vo

Kathryn Canning

Oct 7, 2018
5 min

Confessing to a Serious Crime

There has been a debate on whether there is a split between state courts on the issue of what makes a suspect “in custody”. Some state courts say that a suspect is “in custody” when a suspect confesses to a serious crime because at that point a reasonable person would know that he is not free to leave. However, majority of state courts say the interrogation remains non-custodial even after the suspect confesses, unless other circumstances of the interrogation have changed. Th

Evolving Standards of Decency: Will Kavanaugh Transform the Death Penalty the way Kennedy did?

Lisa Sendrow

Sep 10, 2018
4 min

Evolving Standards of Decency: Will Kavanaugh Transform the Death Penalty the way Kennedy did?

Justice Anthony Kennedy retired from the Supreme Court on July 31, 2018. He was often the swing vote of many of the most ideological decisions, including issues regarding criminal justice and the death penalty. If President Trump’s rhetoric provides any indication, then his nominee Brett Kavanaugh may reject any challenges to capital punishment. Kennedy was often the key vote in slowly limiting death penalty practices. But if Kavanaugh is appointed, will those practices resur

SCOTUS Update: United States v. Microsoft Corporation

Apoorva Deshmukh

Apr 2, 2018
4 min

SCOTUS Update: United States v. Microsoft Corporation

On February 27, 2018, the Supreme Court heard oral argument for United States v. Microsoft Corporation. The case considered whether a United States provider of email services must comply with a probable cause based warrant issued under 18 U.S.C. § 2703, even if the provider has decided to store the material abroad. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2703(a), the government may require disclosure by a provider of email services of wire or electronic communications stored in an electronic comm

Jenna Holmes

Apr 16, 2017
6 min

Maryland Bail Reform Up in the Air

In February 2017 Maryland’s highest court unanimously approved Rule 4-216.1. This rule provides guidance to judges regarding pre-trial release of arrested individuals. The aim of this rule is to end the practice of holding individuals awaiting trial in jail simply because they cannot afford bail. Yet, likely due to the bail bondsmen’s large lobbying presence, Maryland’s Senate passed a bill on March 22, 2017 to stifle the key parts of the Court of Appeals’ rule change. The Co

Update: Supreme Court Overturns Death Sentence in Buck v. Davis, Finding Ineffective Assistance of C

Kaitlin Bigger

Mar 15, 2017
5 min

Update: Supreme Court Overturns Death Sentence in Buck v. Davis, Finding Ineffective Assistance of C

On February 22, 2017, Chief Justice John Roberts of the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion vacating and remanding Buck v. Davis. Duane Buck, an African American, was sentenced to death by a Texas jury in 1997 after his defense attorney introduced an expert witness at trial who testified that Buck would be a future danger to society because of his race. In order to sentence a defendant to death in Texas, during the sentencing phase of a capital trial, the jury must

Blocking Sex Offenders from Social Media: Packingham v. North Carolina

Nicole Navarro

Nov 14, 2016
3 min

Blocking Sex Offenders from Social Media: Packingham v. North Carolina

In 2008, North Carolina passed N.C.G.S.A. § 14-202.5, a statute placing a ban on registered sex offenders from accessing social media websites that allow access to anyone under the age of eighteen. The statute is intended to protect minors from contact with sex offenders on the Internet and makes a violation of the statute a Class I felony. The North Carolina statute places a ban on the majority of popular social media websites we all use every day including Facebook, Twitter

Kaitlin Bigger

Nov 8, 2016
2 min

"Indefensible": Recent Supreme Court Case Highlights Continued Racial Bias in Death Penalt

Duane Buck was sentenced to death by a jury in 1997 after his own counsel called an expert witness who testified that Mr. Buck would be a future danger to society because he was African American. A finding of future dangerousness is required under Texas law in order to impose a death sentence. Mr. Buck’s brief filed with the Supreme Court asserted that allowing Mr. Buck’s conviction to stand will create the risk of injustice in other cases, and undermine the criminal justic

Maria Thompson

Nov 8, 2016
4 min

Privacy in the Time of Birchfield

In the Supreme Court’s June 2016 decision in Birchfield v. North Dakota, the Court held that police officers do not need a warrant to issue a driver suspected of driving under the influence a breath test as a search incident to arrest. Birchfield involved multiple petitioners arguing that their Fourth Amendment rights were violated as result of their states’ implied consent laws. Under North Dakota law, a police officer who pulls over a motorist for suspicion of driving unde

Samantha Findling

Sep 6, 2016
4 min

Racism in Jury Selection

When we think about the Criminal Justice System, we may think about the roles of criminal law practitioners. Defense attorneys are the gladiators that fight to protect the wrongly accused. Prosecutors are those that fight to represent the victim, the victim’s family, the public’s expectation of safety, and of course the community. But isn’t it possible that sometimes a prosecutor’s perception of a community intentionally excludes the members of our society that are African Am

KNOWLEDGE • PRACTICE • JUSTICE

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