Today in Supreme Court History: September 30, 1857

9/30/1857: Justice Benjamin Robbins Curtis resigns from the Supreme Court after Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857).

Justice Benjamin Robbins Curtis

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

Lux v. Rodrigues, 561 U.S. 1306 (decided September 30, 2010): Roberts denies injunction requiring Virginia election officials to count Congressional candidate’s signatures; signatures had been held invalid because of statute requiring witness to signatures to be from same Congressional District as signers; statute would likely withstand scrutiny even in light of recent case law striking down various petition restrictions (Roberts was proven wrong; the Fourth Circuit remanded to the District Court with instructions to evaluate State Interest implications, and the statute was struck down on First Amendment grounds, 842 F. Supp. 2d 895 (E.D. Va. 2012))

[JoeFromtheBronx]

On 9/30/2015, the Supreme Court with only Stephen Breyer dissenting publicly, rejected a stay and denied cert for Richard Glossip, whose appeal was earlier rejected 5-4.

The governor stayed his execution because of concerns about the drug protocol. Executions in general were held up for years.

Glossip was not executed once the moratorium ended, other problems arising. The Supreme Court will hear a case involving Glossip in the upcoming term.

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Also, OTD, Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Investiture (9/30/22).

https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/29/politics/supreme-court-jackson-investiture/index.html

[JoeFromtheBronx]

This is a Joan Biskupic article so our host thinks it doesn't actually say anything we (at least he) don't know already.

[SRG2]

Glossip is in all likelihood innocent but "we never make mistakes".

[JoeFromtheBronx]

The honest answer is that if you support the death penalty that you accept some mistakes.

Lots of mistakes in war that involves killing. We allow mistakes in some contexts where life is taken.

The "point me to the mistakes" dodge is just that.

[David Nieporent]

Glossip is in all likelihood innocent but “we never make mistakes”.

Although there were certainly issues with the trial, Glossip is not likely to be innocent, IMO. His own story has him lying about the victim's whereabouts and actions and leading people on a wild goose chase to find the victim even though he already knew the victim was dead and where the victim's body was.