Hall v. Florida: Court strikes down rigid IQ cutoff of 70 in death penalty cases, but many questions remain

In a 5-4 opinion, the United States Supreme Court found that states cannot impose a rigid IQ cutoff of 70 in determining if a person is intellectually disabled and thus ineligible for the death penalty.  This opinion comes 12 years after the […]

Kaley v. United States – The Right to Counsel . . . If You Can Afford It

On February 25, 2014 I received a number of emails about Kaley v United States, 571 U.S. ____ (2014).  The emails said that Chief Justice John Roberts had written a dissent and was championing the right to counsel.  They included quotes from his […]

US SUPREME COURT – Hinton v. Alabama: Effective Counsel and Forensic Expertise

On February 24th, the United States Supreme Court issued a per curiam reversal in the case of Alabama death row inmate Anthony Ray Hinton.  Applying “a straightforward application of [its] ineffective-assistance-of-counsel precedents,” the Court held that “it was unreasonable for Hinton’s lawyer to […]

The Supreme Court Says No To Warrantless, Non-Consensual Blood Draws

Supreme Court Cases You Can Actually Use: Missouri v. McNeely, 133 S.Ct. 1552 (2013) The U.S. Supreme Court has unequivocally ruled that when a person is stopped on suspicion of drunk driving, the police may not take a blood sample […]

The backstory to Alabama v. Shelton

You remember Alabama v. Shelton, 535 U.S. 654 (2002) don’t you? That’s the case where the US Supreme Court continued its slow march toward fully realizing the right to counsel promised in Gideon v. Wainwright. That’s the case where the Court held […]