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May 6, 2025 | SCOTUS Rules Non-Citizens Must Challenge Removal Under Alien Enemies Act
Tag: Sixth Amendment
SCOTUS Rules Retrial Is Constitutional After Conviction in Improper Venue
In Smith v. the United States, 599 U.S. ____ (2023), the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that the Constitution permits the retrial of a defendant following a trial in an improper venue conducted before a jury drawn from the wrong district. Fa...
Supreme Court Adds Two Sixth Amendment Cases to Docket
The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to consider two cases involving the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution. The first, Smith v. United States, asks the justices to determine the proper remedy when a defendant is tried and convicted in the wrong ...
SCOTUS Rules Sixth Amendment Right to a Unanimous Jury Applies in State Courts
In Ramos v. Louisiana, 590 U. S. ____ (2020), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial, as incorporated against the states, requires a unanimous verdict to convict a defendant of a serious offense. The Court struck ...
Garza v Idaho Clarifies Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
In Garza v Idaho, 586 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the presumption of prejudice for Sixth Amendment purposes recognized in Roe v. Flores-Ortega applies regardless of whether a defendant has signed an appeal waiver. The case w...
Right to Maintain Innocence in McCoy v Louisiana
In McCoy v Louisiana, 584 U. S. ____ (2018), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants the “autonomy to decide … to assert innocence” as their defense. This includes the defendant’s right to insist th...
Racial Bias Trumps Juror Secrecy in Pena-Rodriguez v Colorado
A divided U.S. Supreme Court recently held that while jury deliberations should normally be kept secret, racial or ethnic bias mandates an exception to the rule. The court decided Pena-Rodriguez v Colorado, 580 U. S. ____ (2017) by a vote of 5-3. Fa...
Buck v Davis: Racial Bias & Sixth Amendment Might Reverse Death Sentence
In Buck v Davis, 580 U. S. ____ (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court recently held that a death row inmate was likely prejudiced by expert witness testimony offered by his own defense team that suggested he was more likely to be dangerous in the future bec...
October 2016 Supreme Court Term Preview: Major Criminal Cases at Hand
The U.S. Supreme Court will return from its summer recess at the end of the month. The justices have already agreed to consider a number of significant criminal law cases over 2016-2017 Term. This post offers a brief preview. Bravo-Fer...
US v Bryant: Tribal Convictions and the Constitution’s Right to Counsel
In US v Bryant 579 ___ (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the inclusion of tribal-court convictions as predicate offenses under a federal domestic violence law targeting repeat offenders does not violate the Sixth Amendment’s right to counsel...
Previous Articles
Causing Physical Harm Always Involves “Use of Force”
by DONALD SCARINCI on April 29, 2025
In Delligatti v. United States, 604 U.S. ____ (2025), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the knowing ...
SCOTUS Confirms Right to Renew Lawsuit Ater Voluntary Dismissal
by DONALD SCARINCI on April 22, 2025
In Waetzig v. Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., 604 U.S. ____ (2025), the U.S. Supreme Court held ...
Supreme Court Rules Trademark Infringement Damages Include Only Named Defendant’s Profits
by DONALD SCARINCI on April 14, 2025
In Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers, Inc., 604 U.S. __ (2025), the U.S. SupremeCourt held...
