Kavanaugh, Roberts Key to D.C. Sniper Outcome at High Court (1)

Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts hold key votes in deciding whether D.C. Sniper Lee Boyd Malvo can get a new sentencing hearing, and, more broadly, how the Supreme Court will interpret its recent juvenile sentencing precedents that apply to other convicts, too.

In particular, Kavanaugh’s questioning of both sides during oral arguments Oct. 16 showed that the fates of some killers sentenced for crimes they committed as minors might be in the newest justice’s hands.

How the high court resolves the case could give a glimpse at the Roberts Court’s current stance toward this area of the ...