Wednesday, October 12, 2005

We have a winner! Habeas appeal approval first Roberts court decision

Doc Berman brings news of the first opinion (pdf) issued by the new John-Roberts-led Supreme Court, and it's a bench-slapping: The court reversed a denial of habeas by the Sixth Circuit in favor of murder defendant Paul Allen Dye. (For you non-legal-beagles, that means the Supremes agreed to hear the final appeal of a convicted murderer after the appellate court rejected his claims.)

One pro-defense ruling means little in the scheme of things, but as my Dad used to say, it's better than a sharp stick in the eye. Here's hoping that, when the story of the Roberts court is finally told,
history regards this ruling as foreshadowing, not irony.

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