Extended review of the Supreme Court’s criminal justice work in the Term just completed
Law360 has this lengthy new article providing a detail examination of the Supreme Court’s rulings in an array of criminal cases during its October 2024 Term. The article’s headline, “High Court Term Yields Gains For Criminal Defendants,” reveals its essential theme. I recommend the full article, which starts this way:
The U.S. Supreme Court addressed several contentious issues this term, with the conservative majority prevailing in numerous high-profile cases. Yet, in a notable trend, the court also issued multiple rulings favorable to criminal defendants, including expanding prisoners’ rights in civil lawsuits and reinforcing due process protections in capital cases.
Many court watchers focused on the court’s controversial 6-3 decisions from the conservative bloc, including those upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors and limiting district courts’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions, in a suit against President Donald Trump’s order on birthright citizenship.
But the alliances on the court shifted on several cases involving criminal procedure. The court ruled in Esteras v. United States that judges cannot impose additional prison terms solely as retribution for past offenses when revoking supervised release. Meanwhile, in Hewitt v. United States, the court unanimously ensured broader retroactive application of the First Step Act’s sentencing reforms, allowing thousands to potentially benefit from reduced mandatory minimums upon resentencing.
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