Legal Research

U.S. Supreme Court Opinions: Kennedy v. Louisiana and Giles v. California

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source: Supreme Court Update: A Service from the ABA Criminal Justice Section www.abanet.org/crimjust .

Thanks to the ABA Criminal Justice Section for preparing the following commentary:

KENNEDY V. LOUISIANA
By a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sentencing an individual to death for raping a child violates the Constitution?s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
The ruling stems from an individual in Louisiana ? one of five states that allow the death penalty for child rapists ? who was sentenced to death for raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter.

"Evolving standards of decency must embrace and express respect for the dignity of the person, and the pun¬ishment of criminals must conform to that rule." said Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion.

This was the court?s first decision in more than 30 years on whether a crime other than murder can be punished by execution.
Justice Samuel Alito ? who was joined by Justices Thomas, Scalia, and Chief Justice Robert in his dissent ? wrote that the harm caused by child rapists to the victims and society is immeasurable; adding that ?It is the judgment of the Louisiana lawmakers and those in an increasing number of other states that these harms justify the death penalty."
Click on the link below to access the full opinion. If you cannot click on the link, copy and paste it into your browser. www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07pdf/07-343.pdf

GILES V. CALIFORNIA

The Supreme Court barred the use of a victim?s prior statements at a murder trial and made clear that criminal defendants have the right to confront witnesses testifying against them ? even in situations where the defendant may be responsible for the witness? absence.

The 6-2 ruling results from an individual who was on trial for killing his girlfriend. The murder took place a short time after she alerted the police that he had beaten and claimed he was going to kill her.

Prosecutors sought to introduce statements that the girlfriend had made to a police officer responding to a domestic-violence report about three weeks before the shooting. She told the officer that her boyfriend had accused her of having an affair, and that after the two began to argue, he grabbed her by the shirt, lifted her off the floor, and began to choke her. According to her statement, when she broke free and fell to the floor, the boyfriend punched her in the face and head, and after she broke free again, he opened a folding knife, held it about three feet away from her, and threatened to kill her if he found her cheating on him.

Justice Antonin Scalia said in his majority opinion that the use of the police report violated the accused killer's right to confront his accusers in court.

?The (Sixth) Amendment contemplates that a witness who makes testimonial statements admitted against a defendant will ordinarily be present at trial for cross-examination, and that if the witness is unavailable, his prior testimony will be introduced only if the defendant had a prior opportunity to cross-examine him.? Scalia wrote.

Click on the link below to access the full opinion. If you cannot click on the link, copy and paste it into your browser. www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07pdf/07-6053.pdf

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on June 26, 2008 (boomark / email).