Statute
Sixth Amendment
421 published works
Sentencing Law and Policy
Supreme Court, by unanimous vote, expands (and tweaks?) application of the Confrontation Clause
The Supreme Court this morning in Smith v. Arizona, No. 22-899 (S. Ct. June 21, 2024) (available here), voted unanimously to vacate a state conviction because the defendant did not…
Appellate and Supreme Court
A long accounting of Justice Thomas’ long disaffinity for his key vote in <em>Almendarez-Torres</em>
In this post a couple months ago, I asked "Might Justice Thomas advocate for entirely eliminating the Apprendi's prior-conviction exception in Erlinger?". That post discussed briefly, on the eve of a SCOTUS…
De Novo - Minnesota Law Review
CONVENIENT OR CONFRONTATIONAL?: SAMIA WIDENS CONSTITUTIONAL LOOPHOLE
By Lawreview
By: Mark Hager, Volume 108 Staff Member On June 23, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Samia v. United States, the latest in a line of cases regarding…
Sentencing Law and Policy
Might Justice Thomas advocate for entirely eliminating the <em>Apprendi</em>'s prior-conviction exception in <em>Erlinger</em>?
Though lots of other cases are, understandably, getting lots more attention this Term, I am still quite excited that the Supreme Court will hear tomorrow a notable (and big?) case…
Paul W. Mollica Federal Courts Blog
Potential Jurors Who Were Not Vaccinated for COVID-19 Do Not Constitute A “Distinctive Group” for Sixth Amendment Purposes, Holds Sixth Circuit
In United States v. O’Lear, No. 22-3835 (6th Cir. Jan. 8, 2024), the Sixth Circuit holds that a criminal defendant was not deprived of a representative jury under the Sixth…
ZMO Law Blog
How the First Woman Supreme Court Justice Set the Rules for Criminal Lawyers
By Zachary Margulis-OhnumaUnited States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor died Friday. She will be remembered as the first woman justice, a fearless Republican who put principles of liberty and…
Criminal
US Solicitor General supports SCOTUS review and application of Sixth Amendment rights for key issue for applying Armed Career Criminal Act
A helpful reader made sure I saw a notable Supreme Court filing by the United States in response to a cert petition in an Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) case.…
2Civility Blog
Current Standards for Public Defender Caseloads Are Too High, Study Says
By Marin McCall
The current national standards for public defender caseloads, set in 1973, are “outdated, not empirically based, and inadequate” and should be updated for public defenders to adequately represent indigent clients,…
Sentencing Law and Policy
Inartful dodgers: no constitutional <em>substance</em> in Justice Sotomayor's cert denial statement in acquitted conduct cases
In prior posts in my "inartful dodgers" series (which are linked below), I have mostly bemoaned the cert denial statements authored or joined by four Justices that suggested they voted…
Sentencing Law and Policy
Inartful dodgers: constitutional concerns with acquitted conduct that only SCOTUS can address
In the Declaration of Independence, signed 247 years ago today, the Founder of this Nation complained of a "long train of abuses and usurpations" by "the present King of Great…