We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues. 

SUPREME COURT NIXES CHANCE TO ANSWER QUESTION LEFT HANGING BY BECKLES

A few weeks ago, we reported that the Supreme Court had relisted three related cases an unusual number of times. (A relist is when the Supreme Court schedules a certiorari petition for a decision at the weekly Friday justices’ conference, but then defers any decision until the next conference, essentially “relisting” it on the next week’s conference list).

Last week, the Court denied review without comment on those cases, Allen v. United States, Gates v. United States, and James v. United States. All of these cases asked whether under the Supreme Court’s opinions in United States v. Booker, Johnson v. United States and Beckles v. United States – all of which depended heavily upon the distinction between advisory and mandatory sentencing schemes – the residual clause of the mandatory sentencing guidelines is unconstitutionally vague. Now that question will go unanswered for now.

SCOTUSBlog noted last week, “It’s curious when cases that have been relisted as many as ten times are denied review without even a short statement respecting denial. But perhaps, just as the most effective dissent from denial of cert is never seen (because the court just decides to go ahead and grant review), maybe someone wrote a killer concurrence.”

Supreme Court, Order (May 21, 2018)

– Thomas L. Root