[Lurking Libertarian]

It's actually a bit more complicated. Scalia's opinion for the majority does not hold that the Kentucky court was right to deny the defendant's Fifth Amendment claim. Rather, when a federal court is asked to overturn a state court's decision in a criminal case, the federal court must find not only that the state court was wrong, but also that its decision was "clearly unreasonable." Scalia said the Kentucky court's error wasn't that bad.

[topher]

I assure you, I had trouble following this case, reading the Scalia's decision.

I have a great deal of respect for Scalia based on this decision...

[FredZarguna]

And he was absolutely correct: the court's only error was in not issuing an instruction on the question of self-incrimination during sentencing. That would seem to be a pretty thin reed on which to base a reversal.

[BuckeyeTexan]

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