High Court Suggests Robust Jury Right for Longer Sentences (1)

Several US Supreme Court justices appeared ready to side with criminal defendants on procedures for determining whether they are eligible for sentence enhancements for certain firearms convictions.

The case heard by the court on Wednesday involves the intersection—and what Justice Elena Kagan described as the sometimes “tension"—between several of the court’s previous rulings.

The case ultimately is about whether the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial in criminal cases means a defendant’s peers, rather than a judge, must find certain facts about whether that person is a habitual offender qualifying for a tougher sentence.

That question is important because ...