by Kent Scheidegger · Jul 16, 2020 8:02 am
AP reports:
Wesley Ira Purkey was put to death at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. Purkey had been convicted of kidnapping and killing a 16-year-old girl, Jennifer Long, before dismembering, burning and dumping her body in a septic pond. He also was convicted in a state court in Kansas after using a claw hammer to kill an 80-year-old woman who had polio.
by Bill Otis · Jul 16, 2020 1:14 am
The Court’s order dissolving Judge Chutkan’s attempt once more to frustrate justice with infinite delay is here. Kent correctly predicted several hours ago that Chutkan was “plow[ing] right into reversal number three.”
I’m not especially an optimist, but there may be reason to hope that the Supreme Court is starting to show long overdue impatience with what Justice Alito correctly called abolitionists’ “guerilla war against the death penalty.” Endless last-minute stunts, newly discovered brain lesions, sudden devotion to religion — all the usual maneuvers out of the game-the-system playbook might have worn out their welcome.
And thank you to President Trump and Leader McConnell for Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh, both essential votes in the majority. The Court’s four more liberal members again dissented.
by Kent Scheidegger · Jul 14, 2020 8:38 am
by Kent Scheidegger · Jul 9, 2020 8:49 am
The U.S. Supreme Court ended its term today with a 5-4 bombshell decision that much of Oklahoma remains “Indian country” for the purpose of prosecuting crimes, even though it hasn’t been that in reality for a century. The Court also decided two politically charged cases regarding subpoenas for President Trump’s financial records.
by Kent Scheidegger · Jun 29, 2020 10:07 am
The U.S. Supreme Court today turned down the federal execution protocol case, apparently on a 7-2 vote. The orders list is here. See page 6. See this post from June 18. The order notes, “Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor would grant the application and the petition for a writ of certiorari.”
by Kent Scheidegger · Jun 25, 2020 11:27 am
The U.S. Supreme Court today upheld the 1996 Act of Congress that sharply limited judicial review for aliens whose claims of asylum are not found credible by immigration authorities. The opinion of the Court, joined by five Justices, upheld the statute entirely. The Court rejected the claim that the statute violated the Suspension Clause. That clause protects the right to seek habeas corpus relief for its original purpose, release from illegal custody. It provides no constitutional right for a person seeking to remain in this country when the government intends to release him to his own country.
by Kent Scheidegger · Jun 18, 2020 5:07 pm
In the on-going litigation over the federal execution protocol, the U.S. Supreme Court today granted the murderers’ motion to fast-track the briefing on whether the high court should take the case up. The government did not oppose the motion.
The government’s response is due tomorrow, as are any amicus curiae briefs. The murderers’ reply is due Monday. That would allow the Court to consider the case at its conference next Thursday.
by Kent Scheidegger · Jun 17, 2020 1:55 pm
The Supreme Court yesterday stayed the execution of Texas murderer Rubin Gutierrez. And what did the State of Texas do to warrant this last-minute interference with the execution of a very thoroughly reviewed judgment? They did exactly what Justice Kavanaugh said last year was a perfectly acceptable solution to the problem.
by Kent Scheidegger · Jun 15, 2020 7:04 am
The U.S. Supreme Court this morning issued its Monday orders list, announcing the cases it will and will not take. The big news is in the “will not” portion. A large number of closely watched cases were turned down. They include (1) calls to modify the qualified immunity doctrine, which protects police officers, among others, from lawsuits for doing their duty according to the law as they reasonably understand it at the time, even if a judge later disagrees or a court later reverses its precedents; (2) cases on the Second Amendment right to bear arms; and (3) the “sanctuary state” case of United States v. California.
by Kent Scheidegger · Jun 8, 2020 8:13 am
Today in Lomax v. Ortiz-Marquez, No. 18-8369, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided that a statute means exactly what it clearly says. One might well wonder why it is necessary to have the Supreme Court weigh in on such an obvious question, but two courts of appeals had decided it the other way. Justice Kagan’s opinion for the Court states the issue:
To help staunch a “flood of nonmeritorious” prisoner litigation, the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PLRA) established what has become known as the three-strikes rule…. That rule generally prevents a prisoner from bringing suit in forma pauperis (IFP)—that is, without first paying the filing fee—if he has had three or more prior suits “dismissed on the grounds that [they were] frivolous, malicious, or fail[ed] to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.” … Today we address whether a suit dismissed for failure to state a claim counts as a strike when the dismissal was without prejudice.
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