Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by her two colleagues on the left, ripped open the fault lines on the court over the role of precedent in a searing dissent in a juvenile justice decision Thursday.

The majority “conflates,” “exaggerates,” “twists” and essentially “guts” two foundational opinions on the issue of sentences of life in prison without parole for juvenile killers, Sotomayor wrote in the case Jones v. Mississippi. The 6-3 court, led by Brett Kavanaugh, made it easier for judges to sentence juvenile offenders to life without parole.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]