U.S. Supreme Court overturns mandatory prison sentence in Tulsa sex offender case
https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/u-s-supreme-court-overturns-mandatory-prison-sentence-in-tulsa/article_9dca1491-d053-5d2e-875b-22fd197ae0dd.html
So parole violations must all now go to jury before tossing an offender back in jail?
True, but they have all been the same kind of cases. Gorsuch seems to have libertarian streak when it comes to the federal government's criminal justice powers. Not really a surprise if you look at his history on the federal courts and pretty consistent if you look at his mentor Scalia who often took a dim view of government criminal justice overreach. However, Gorsuch seems willing to go even farther than Scalia in these matter. The good news is that in all other areas Gorsuch seems to be a pretty rock solid conservative vote.
Need a jury to add to a penalty.
Agreed.
Gorsuch is not a “Conservative”. He is a Constitutionalist. There are limits to Goobermint powers arising from a written document created to protect the people and our liberties from Goobermint overreach.
He is following what he understands those words to have meant to the people that wrote them.
OK by me.
A pillar of the progressive agenda IS a Congress that keeps abdicating Congress’ sole federal law making authority to the executive and the judiciary. Gorsuch identifies that clearly in laws that are vague and laws that hand too much discretionary power to regulators and courts. To Gorsuch the issue is not the subject matter of a particular law - whether it be about “sex” crimes or something else. Liberty is Liberty and respect for rights of defendants is not about the subject matter of a particular law. If that Liberty can be abused by one law, it becomes allowed by other laws - laws even you may object to.
At its face, from what is presented here, this looks like a good decision. That said, there’s no presentation of the dissent.