Washington, DC – On news this morning that the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Hurst v. Florida, holding that Florida’s death penalty sentencing scheme violates the Sixth Amendment, Constitutional Accountability Center – which filed an amicus brief in the case together with the American Civil Liberties Union – had the following reaction:

CAC Appellate Counsel Brianne Gorod said, “The Court affirmed in unequivocal terms the importance of the Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury, with only Justice Alito in dissent. The Court made clear that a state cannot impose a death sentence without a jury making the factual findings required by law.”

CAC Chief Counsel Elizabeth Wydra added, “The Court should be applauded today for being faithful to the text and history of our Constitution.”

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Resources:

CAC’s “friend of the court” brief in Hurst v. Florida: http://theusconstitution.org/cases/hurst-v-florida-us-sup-ct 

Prediction in 2005 after Alito’s nomination to the Court: “There will be no one to the right of Sam Alito on this Court,” Jonathan Turley, NBC News Today Show, October 30, 2015: http://media.pfaw.org/stc/alito-final.pdf 

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Constitutional Accountability Center (www.theusconstitution.org) is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history.

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