Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Capital Defense Weekly

Criminal Law

: Capital Defense Weekly

SCOTUS action

By Karl R. Keys, Esq.

In a decision that unlikely surprised many (and predicted here) the Court today in Wellons v. Hall remands. SCOTUSBlog notes: The Court, in a second summary ruling on Tuesday, engaged in a spirited debate ? with a 5-4 result ? over when the Court should wipe out a lower court?s ruling and order it to reconsider.  The case involved a Georgia murder case ? a case in which, the Court majority said, there was a trial that ?looked typical,? but ?there were unusual events going on behind the scenes.?  The Court cited private contacts between the jurors and the trial judge, and noted that, during the trial,. ?some members of the jury gave the trial judge chocolate shaped as male genitalia and the bailiff chocolate shaped as female breasts.?  None of this, the Court said, had been reported by the judge to defense lawyers representing Marcus Wellons on the trial for a 1989 murder...continue to full post

Full post as published by Capital Defense Weekly on January 19, 2010 (boomark / email).