Johnson v. Texas
Headline: Court refuses review of many state death-penalty cases, leaving state death sentences intact while two Justices dissent and would have overturned those sentences as unconstitutional.
Holding: The Court denied review of a set of state death-penalty cases, leaving the state court sentences in place, while Justices Brennan and Marshall dissented and would have vacated those sentences.
- Leaves state death sentences in effect for the people involved.
- Signals two Justices continue to view the death penalty as always unconstitutional.
- Keeps the broader constitutional debate over capital punishment unresolved for now.
Summary
Background
These entries record a group of separate appeals that arose from state and federal courts across multiple States, including Texas, Illinois, Georgia, Florida, Wyoming, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Virginia. The Court was asked to review those cases involving death sentences, but the majority declined to take them and formally denied certiorari, leaving the lower-court results in place.
Reasoning
The central question presented was whether the Court should hear these death-penalty appeals and whether the death sentences at issue violate the Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. In a brief dissent, Justices Brennan and Marshall said they adhere to their long-held view that the death penalty is always cruel and unusual. They cited their prior statements, including reference to Gregg v. Georgia, and said they would have granted review and vacated the death sentences in these cases.
Real world impact
Because the Court denied review, the state-court death sentences remain effective for the people involved. The dissent highlights that at least two Justices strongly disagree with that result and would have used the Court’s authority to overturn the sentences. The decision leaves the larger constitutional debate over capital punishment unresolved and unchanged for now.
Dissents or concurrances
Justices Brennan and Marshall explicitly dissented from the denial of review, stating they would grant review and vacate the death sentences, reaffirming their view that capital punishment is categorically unconstitutional.
Opinions in this case:
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