The US Supreme Court ruled Monday that a state need not adopt an incapacity test that turns on a defendant’s ability to recognize that his crime was morally wrong in order to comply with the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. The case, Kahler v. Kansas, involves a man (Kahler) who was convicted of capital murder for shooting and [...]
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The US Supreme Court issued its ruling Wednesday in Peter v. Nantkwest, a case concerning attorney’s fees in patent cases. The case questioned whether attorney’s fees were included as expenses that applicants seeking review of their patent decision with the Patent Trademark Office (PTO) were responsible for. The court issued a unanimous ruling in the [...]
Supreme Court hears arguments on insanity defense, unanimous juries, patent fees
The US Supreme Court began its first day of the fall term Monday with three oral arguments: two criminal cases concerning constitutional questions as well as a case concerning legal fees and the US Patent and Trademark Office. The court began with Kahler v. Kansas, in which the court will determine whether the Fourteenth Amendment’s [...]
The US Supreme Court granted certiorari in four criminal cases originating from Kansas, Louisiana and Virginia on Monday. In Mathena v. Malvo, the so-called “DC sniper” case, Lee Boyd Malvo, then 17, was convicted of two counts of capital murder by a Virginia jury for his part in the killing of 10 individuals and injury [...]
Supreme Court orders lower court to determine competency of death row inmate with dementia
The US Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a new state court hearing to determine whether an Alabama death row inmate battling dementia is incompetent to be executed. The justices ruled 5-3 in favor of inmate Vernon Madison, who was sentenced to death for killing a police officer in 1985. While awaiting execution, Madison suffered a [...]
Arkansas Supreme Court strikes down mental competency section of state's death penalty
The Supreme Court of Arkansas struck down a section of its death penalty statute on Thursday, holding that it violated appellant Bruce Ward’s right to due process and equal protection under the US and Arkansas constitutions. Ward was tried and convicted of capital murder in 1990 and sentenced to death. He was scheduled to be [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday over whether the state can execute an individual who suffers from dementia and cannot remember the crime. Madison v. Alabama is before the Supreme Court for a second time. This time, the court seeks to answer the question : “onsistent with the Eighth Amendment … may the State [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Louis Rene Beres of Purdue University discusses President Trump's potentially problematic access to and control over America's nuclear arsenal, an issue relatively unaddressed amidst the constant discussion of Trump-related scandal... Strictly speaking, insanity is not a proper...
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday ordered Ronald Reagan shooter John Hinckley Jr. released from a government psychiatric hospital. Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity in...
Israel man convicted of 2014 murder of Palestinian teenager that sparked conflict
An Israeli court on Tuesday convicted Yosef Haim for the 2014 murder of a Palestinian teenager that led to a 50-day war in Gaza. Haim entered an insanity plea, but the court rejected his plea stating he was aware...