[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] granted certiorari [order list, PDF] Monday in three cases. In McDaniel v. Brown [docket; cert. petition, PDF], the Court will consider whether the evidence underlying the defendant’s conviction for sexual assault was clearly insufficient under the Court's 1979 decision in Jackson v. Virginia [opinion text] on federal habeas review. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled [opinion, PDF] in favor of the defendant, supplementing the record with other evidence to determine the reliability of testimony and evidence given at trial.

In Mohawk Industries v. Carpenter [docket; cert. petition, PDF], the Court will consider whether a party may immediately appeal a discovery order to disclose materials that party believes are covered by the attorney-client privilege. The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled [opinion, PDF] that there is no such right to an immediate appeal. The Court granted certiorari to resolve a circuit split on the issue.

In Maryland v. Shatzer [docket; cert. petition, PDF], the Court will consider whether the Edwards v. Arizona [opinion text] prohibition against interrogation of a suspect who has invoked the Fifth Amendment right to counsel is inapplicable if, after the suspect asks for counsel, there is a break of more than two years before commencing reinterrogation. The Court of Appeals of Maryland ruled [opinion, PDF] that there was no break in custody and that the Edwards prohibition against interrogation was still applicable.