Sixth Amendment

Judge’s COVID-19 protocols violated defendant’s right to a public trial, 9th Circuit rules

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a public trial was violated when a trial judge allowed an audio stream but not video access to the proceedings.

May 17, 2022 12:52 PM CDT

Appeals court sides with judge who muted man during remote sentencing

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that a Missouri man’s rights were not violated when a judge muted him twice during his remote sentencing.

May 4, 2022 8:53 AM CDT

Convicted Boston Marathon bomber got a fair trial, Supreme Court rules in reinstating his capital sentence

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday reinstated the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people, wounded 260 others and led to the fatal shooting of a police officer.

Mar 4, 2022 10:39 AM CST

‘Father of Miranda’ Yale Kamisar dies at 92

Yale Kamisar, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School who influenced landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions on the rights of criminal defendants, has died at age 92.

Feb 7, 2022 9:23 AM CST

Video testimony violated defendant’s Sixth Amendment right of confrontation, top state court rules

A recent decision on video testimony by the Missouri Supreme Court is raising questions about criminal convictions obtained using video testimony during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jan 20, 2022 1:05 PM CST

‘Opening the door’ rule violated defendant’s rights under Sixth Amendment’s confrontation clause, SCOTUS says

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a New York’s “opening the door” rule violated a defendant’s rights under the Sixth Amendment’s confrontation clause.

Jan 20, 2022 10:51 AM CST

Appeals court upholds admission of inmate’s Comedy Central interview at his death penalty trial

A trial judge didn’t err by admitting footage of an inmate’s conversation with a Comedy Central comedian during the penalty phase of the inmate’s murder trial, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled last week.

Dec 15, 2021 8:52 AM CST

Supreme Court should reverse decision in Texas ineffective counsel case, ABA says

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals’ consideration of a Texas death row inmate’s case deviated from the U.S. Supreme Court’s prior instruction regarding ineffective assistance of counsel and conflicted with its precedents, the ABA told the Supreme Court on Thursday.

Nov 19, 2021 11:54 AM CST

Ineffective counsel at two levels entitles death row inmate to new sentencing, 4th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has ruled that a death row inmate in South Carolina is entitled to a new sentencing hearing because of failures by his trial counsel and appellate counsel.

Aug 24, 2021 11:55 AM CDT

Unvaccinated lawyer has to wear mask at client’s trial after top state court refuses to intervene

A criminal defense lawyer in Augusta, Maine, has to wear a mask in his client’s jury trial this week after the state’s top court refused to consider his claim that the face covering would prejudice jurors.

Jul 20, 2021 1:08 PM CDT

Appeals court slams judge’s ‘utterly racist’ theory on Black defendant’s frontal lobes

A New York appeals court has reduced a burglary sentence because of “shocking” and “utterly racist” comments by a sentencing judge who said the disruptive Black defendant’s frontal lobes were likely “retarded in growth.”

Jul 6, 2021 12:13 PM CDT

Sotomayor accuses majority of ‘linguistic contortion’ in rejecting ineffective assistance claim in death penalty case

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the ineffective assistance claim of a death row inmate who didn’t call his lawyers to testify about their failure to hire an expert to assess him for an intellectual disability.

Jul 2, 2021 1:55 PM CDT

Pro se defendant’s grandiose remarks not disqualifying, 4th Circuit says; some trial lawyers are ‘outright narcissists’

A defendant who made grandiose statements while defending himself was of the same ilk of many great trial lawyers who are somewhat full of themselves, a federal appeals court concluded in upholding his conviction.

Jun 16, 2021 10:58 AM CDT

DOJ seeks reinstatement of death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber

The U.S. Department of Justice is backing reinstatement of the death sentence for the Boston Marathon bomber in a brief filed Monday with the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jun 16, 2021 9:29 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: Precedent seems to matter little in the Roberts Court

How much weight does the Roberts Court give to precedent? This is the crucial underlying question now that the U.S. Supreme Court has granted review in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which puts the fate of Roe v. Wade before the justices. The case concerns a Mississippi law that prohibits abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.

Jun 3, 2021 11:37 AM CDT