Search Results for: elena kagan

The US Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit that “reckless” crimes qualify as violent felonies for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). The ACCA mandates a 15-year sentence for those persons found guilty of illegally possessing a firearm who have been convicted [...]

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The US Supreme Court held Monday that individuals whose convictions became final before Ramos v. Louisiana, holding that jury verdicts in criminal trials must be unanimous under the Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution, do not receive the advantages of jury unanimity on federal collateral review. In April 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in Ramos that [...]

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The US Supreme Court ruled Thursday in Jones v. Mississippi that when sentencing juvenile defendants to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole, judges need not make a separate factual finding concerning the defendant’s youth. The challenge came from Brett Jones, who was convicted in 2004 of killing his grandfather at age 15. Jones argued [...]

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Products liability suits against Ford Motors in Montana and Minnesota can go forward in their respective state courts, said the US Supreme Court on Thursday. The court rejected Ford’s argument that personal specific jurisdiction was limited to lawsuits in states where Ford manufactured or originally sold vehicles. For courts to have specific jurisdiction over a [...]

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The US Supreme Court heard arguments in the consolidated cases Wilkinson v. Dai and Wilkinson v. Alcaraz-Enriquez on Tuesday. The main issue before the court is”hether a court of appeals may conclusively presume that an asylum applicant’s testimony is credible and true whenever an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals adjudicates an application [...]

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In a divided decision, the Supreme Court ruled Friday against a California ban on indoor church services. However, it did not strike down California’s restrictions on indoor singing, chanting, and limits to the number of worshipers. The ruling permits California churches to hold in-person services with a capacity limit of 25%. The restrictions and bans [...]

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The Trump administration executed Corey Johnson by lethal injection on Thursday. Johnson was convicted for a series of seven murders committed in 1992 and became the twelfth federal inmate put to death since July. The execution followed two separate appeals by Johnson’s attorneys for a stay of execution. In the first appeal they argued that Johnson [...]

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