CHCS Supreme Court

The 2015 case is Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans. It raises the question of whether the state of Texas can reject an application for a specialty license plate from the SCV when it accepted applications from other groups. SCV are claiming a violation of the Free Speech Clause.

Check back for updates.

This year's case is Jackson v Hobbs. The question presented is whether it is cruel and unusual punishment to sentence an individual to life in prison without parole for a homicide he committed while 14 years old. We watched the Supreme Court argument on Tuesday March 20 and argued the case at Cape Henry on Saturday March 24.

The lawyers were - Andrew Rosenblum (Jackson), Christian laW (Hobbs), Michael Field (Amicus State of Michigan), Garrett Gomez (Miller), Jessica Miller (Alabama), Kyle McKee (American Psychological Association).

The opinions are in. By a 7-2 majority, the Cape Henry Justices held that a court may sentence a 14 year old to life in prison without parole (LWOP) for a non-homicide crime, for so long as the sentence was not given as part of a mandatory scheme. In other words, LWOP may not be the only option available to the sentencer. You can read the CHCS opinion or watch the CHCS argument by clicking on the links below.

And then the Supreme Court of the United States reached the same conclusion by a 5-4 margin. You can also read that opinion below.

SCOTUS OPINION

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-9646g2i8.pdf

CHCS OPINION

2012 Jackson Miller Opinion.doc (48 kB)

VIDEO OF THE CHCS ARGUMENT

Part 1 - Intro - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3CV-p49Wv0

Part 2 - Rosenblum and Law - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP0AbDGLcJY

Part 3 - Law and Field - https://youtu.be/sQ3gcFsoZek

Part 4 - Field, Rosenblum, and Gomez - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8L0sxSEX4E

Part 5- Miller - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGQp_b3kG6Y

Part 6 - Miller, McKee, and Gomez - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8iW5J0_vOw