Tag: Criminal Law

In Williams v Pennsylvania, the U.S. Supreme Court held that judges must recuse themselves in cases that they once prosecuted 579 U.S. ___ (2016). By a vote of 5-3, the justices held that a Pennsylvania judge’s participation in a death penalty case...

Welch v. United States: Landmark Sentencing Decision Must Be Applied Retroactively On April 18, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court held that its landmark criminal sentencing decision in Johnson v. United States must be applied retroactively. The justices ...

In Luis v. United States, 136 U.S. 1083 (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the pretrial freeze of a criminal defendant's legitimate, untainted assets violates the Sixth Amendment right to counsel of choice. While the significant constitutiona...

In Wearry v. Cain, 577 U. S. ____ (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the prosecution’s failure to disclose material evidence violated the petitioner’s due process rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. Accordingly, the justices orde...

In Cohens v. Virginia, 19 U.S. 264 (1821), the U.S. Supreme Court established itself as the highest court in the county. The justices expressly held that the Court had appellate jurisdiction over state court criminal law decisions involving alleg...

The U.S. Supreme Court returns from recess on February 22, 2016 without Justice Antonin Scalia. Below is a brief summary of the Supreme Court’s Case Docket that the Eight justices will consider this month.   Kingdomware Technologies, In...

In Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (1905), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a New York law that established maximum working hours for bakers. According to the majority, the right to buy and sell labor was a liberty interest protected under the...

In Kansas v. Carr, 577 U. S. ____ (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the constitutionality of jury instructions used in two Kansas capital murder cases. The justices ruled that the Eighth Amendment does not mandate that courts instruct ...

In Montgomery v. Louisiana, 577 U. S. ____ (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court addressed how state courts should apply its decision in Miller v. Alabama, in which the Court held that the Eighth Amendment prohibits a sentencing scheme that requires life in...

On January 12, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Florida’s capital-sentencing scheme in Hurst v. Florida, 577 U. S. (2016). By a vote of 8-1, the justices held that allowing the trial judge to have the final say on a death sentence violated ...