Supreme Court
‘Maverick’ Justice John Paul Stevens Dies at 99
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Initially a moderate Republican, Stevens became known as a liberal on the bench. He favored gun control and most regretted a vote to revive the death penalty, which he later opposed.
Immigration
Supreme Court to Take Up DACA Issue Next Term
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A string of lower courts have said that President Trump’s decision to terminate the Obama-era program was based on faulty legal reasoning and that the administration has failed to provide a solid rationale for ending it.
Crime and Justice News
Supreme Court: Cops Can Use Blood From Unconscious Drivers Without Warrant
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The Supreme Court agreed to decide whether implied consent is consistent with the Fourth Amendment’s ban against unreasonable searches.
Supreme Court
High Court Rules for Sex Offender in Sentence Challenge
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The justices ruled 5-4 that a federal law requiring sex offenders to return to prison based on a judge’s new findings is unconstitutional. Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion for himself and the court’s four liberal justices.
Stop and Fix? How the ‘High-Crime Area’ Defense Has Licensed Bad Policing
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Almost 20 years after a Supreme Court ruling that police are justified stopping and frisking individuals in areas considered “high crime,” a new study shows the designation is both subjective and biased. TCR’s legal columnist says it’s time to scrap the concept.
Guns
Gun Law Held ‘Unconstitutionally Vague’ by High Court
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In a 5-4 opinion written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the Supreme Court struck down a federal law that authorizes stiff sentences for certain gun crimes. President Trump’s other appointee to the court, Brett Kavanaugh, wrote the dissent.
Race and Equity
Court Reverses Curtis Flowers Conviction
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The Supreme Court reversed the most recent conviction of Flowers, a black Mississippian who has been tried an extraordinary six times for a quadruple murder in 1996, finding that a zealous prosecutor again improperly kept African Americans off the jury.
Supreme Court
Justices Overturn Immigrant’s Firearms Conviction
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If an undocumented immigrant is arrested for illegal possession of a firearm, the person’s knowledge of his immigration status matters, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday in overturning an Emerati national’s conviction. Dissenters predict that the ruling will cause “a mountain of problems” involving people already convicted in similar cases.
Supreme Court
Split High Court Upholds Federal Sex Offender Law
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The Supreme Court last week affirmed the scope of the 2006 Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), which requires sex offenders to register with the National Sex offender registry and update their registration when they travel or move. The narrow 5-3 opinion suggests that the court may revisit the issue later.
Supreme Court
Justices Uphold Federal, State Charges for Same Crimes
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In a case that could affect associates of President Trump accused of wrongdoing and hoping for pardons, the Supreme Court ruled that criminal defendants may be prosecuted for the same offenses in both federal and state court. Because Trump’s pardon power extends only to federal crimes, the ruling leaves people he pardons subject to state prosecutions.