Justices send expert witness question back to state court

Justices send expert witness question back to state court

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The Supreme Court on Friday sent the case of an Arizona man convicted of drug possession back to the state courts. Jason Smith argued that when an expert witness testified for the prosecution about drug analysis performed by another forensic scientist, it violated his right under the Sixth Amendment “to be confronted with the witnesses against him.”

In an opinion by Justice Elena Kagan, the court agreed with Smith that the requirements of the Sixth Amendment’s confrontation clause normally … Read the rest

Majority turns down request to send Texas abortion litigation back to federal district court

Majority turns down request to send Texas abortion litigation back to federal district court

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The Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon rejected abortion providers’ request to order a federal appeals court to send their challenge to a Texas law banning almost all abortions in the state promptly back to the friendlier confines of a federal district court in that state. The providers argued that failing to do so would “derail indefinitely the timely resolution of the merits of the case” and “compound the ongoing harm to pregnant Texans under” the law, which has been … Read the rest