The Supreme Court affirmed the 11th Circuit in an odd 5-4 lineup in which Chief Justice Roberts (along withe Kagan and Ginsburg) joined Justice Sotomayor in dissent. Justice Thomas held for the majority: The Armed Career Criminal Act’s elements clause encompasses a robbery
offense that, like Florida’s law, requires the criminal to overcome the
victim’s resistance.
It used to be mildly surprising when Justice Breyer voted against criminal defendants, but that is the norm now. He is among the worst justices on criminal justice issues. In this case, one friend put it this way: Breyer literally snatched victory from Stokeling's hands, violently.
This case is a pretty good example of how Scalia's death really affected the Court on criminal justice issues. Scalia wrote the Johnson decision on which Stokeling's argument was based. He likely would have sided with the defense here, where his replacement sided with the government.
The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com
8 comments:
Newsflash...robbery, whether by sudden snatching or punching or gun is violent. I understand the statutory language issues, etc., but really, guy who snatches your phone is going to fight you or worse if you resist. That is violent .
Regardless of the result, kudos to Brenda Bryn for her excellent work on this case. The briefing and OA were top notch. She made everyone at the FPD proud.
4:40 - Update - Four Supreme Court justices disagree with your brilliant and well-reasoned legal analysis.
Come back when it is five.
What a jerk.
Which one?
Breyer switched sides from his Johnson vote. Splits happen!
The jerk who said "come back when it's 5." I believe his initials are D.B.
From what I can tell, Breyer changed his stance on criminal defendants around the time he was personally robbed: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-burglary/supreme-court-justice-breyer-robbed-again-idUSBRE84G1CB20120517
Post a Comment