Government scores in two high court criminal rulings
Today, before hearing the term’s last oral argument, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a pair of decisions siding with the government in criminal matters.
In Dean. v. U.S., the Court held that a statute boosting the criminal penalty for discharging a firearm during commission of a felony applies even if the gun is fired accidentally. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., writing for the 7-2 majority, started the opinion with the observation: “Accidents happen.”
In Kansas v. Ventris, the Court held that a defendant’s statement to a jailhouse undercover informant, obtained in violation of the Sixth Amendment, can still be admissible at trial for impeachment purposes. “Our precedents make clear that the game of excluding tainted evidence for impeachment purposes is not worth the candle,” Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the majority in the 7-2 opinion.
