Tag: Criminal Law

In Davis v. Ayala, 135 S. Ct. 2187 (2015), the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether it was a harmless error to exclude defense counsel from the Batson hearing. A deeply divided court ultimately answered yes, highlighting that habeas petitioners are ...

In Woods v. Donald, 135 S.Ct. 1372 (2015), the U.S. Supreme Court clarified when a federal court may grant habeas relief. In a per curium opinion, the justices unanimously held that court may only grant such relief when the state court’s decision i...

In Christeson v. Roper, 135 S. Ct. 891 (2015), the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the requirements for counsel substitution under "the interests of justice" standard. In a 7-2 per curium decision, the majority held that a conflict of interest is ground...

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in DIRECTV, Inc. v. Imburgia, holding that the California Court of Appeal erred in finding an arbitration clause required the application of state law despite its preemption by the Federal Arbitrat...

The U.S. Supreme Court ended the week last week granting certiorari in Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole, their first case involving abortion since 2007. In addition, they heard argument on the following cases, summarized below: Green v. Bren...

In Mapp v. Ohio, 367 US 643 (1961), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that evidence obtained through a search in violation of the Fourth Amendment could not be used as evidence in a state criminal case. The decision relied on the doctrine of selective inc...

The U.S. Supreme Court started its November sitting this week. The justices heard oral arguments in six cases. In addition to an important case involving Article III standing, the Court also considered several criminal law issues. Below is a...

U.S. Supreme Court Review for October, 2015: The justices of the Court have been busy since returning to the bench. The Supreme Court Review covers oral arguments in ten cases and added a number of important new cases to the docket. On Oc...

The Supreme Court’s new term begins on October 5, 2015. One of the first cases the justices will consider is Hurst v. Florida. The case raises several questions about the constitutionality of Florida’s capital punishment scheme, particularly the...

The U.S. Supreme Court recently confirmed that innocence matters in criminal court. While the notion may seem quite obvious, the Court has never found that a prisoner is entitled to habeas relief based on a freestanding actual-innocence claim. Rather...