Supremes rule on drug trafficking law, other cases
Today the Supreme Court ruled that the use of a cell phone for misdemeanor drug purchase does constitute felony facilitation of drug trafficking.
The decision in Abuelhawa v. U.S., handed down by Justice David Souter as President Barack Obama was announcing his choice to replace him, reversed a felony conviction of a man who used a cell phone to make a misdemeanor drug buy.
In Montejo v. Louisiana, the Court overruled Michigan v. Jackson, which prohibited police to initiate interrogation of a criminal defendant once he has invoked his right to counsel at an arraignment or similar proceeding. In a fairly unusual move, Justice John Paul Stevens, who authored the overturned case, gave a dissent from the bench.
In Haywood v. Drown, the Court struck down a New York law barring all civil rights lawsuits against prison guards as violative of the Supremacy Clause.
