Burton v. California

Background

These entries involve people sentenced to death and the state courts that reviewed those sentences. The cases came from several state high courts, including California, Missouri, Illinois, Georgia, Florida, Texas, and Ohio. The parties had asked the United States Supreme Court to review the state-court decisions.

Reasoning

The Supreme Court declined to take up these cases and issued a simple denial of review rather than a full decision on the merits. Because the Court did not hear the constitutional arguments, it did not resolve whether the death penalty is categorically prohibited under the Constitution. As a practical matter, the lower-court results leaving the death sentences in place remain undisturbed by this action.

Real world impact

As a result of the denial, the existing death sentences in these cases remain in effect for now. The denial is not a final ruling on the underlying constitutional question, so the legal dispute over whether the death penalty is always cruel and unusual could be revisited in future cases. People on death row in the listed states and the state governments enforcing those sentences are the immediate parties affected.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Brennan and Justice Marshall filed a dissent saying they would have granted review and would vacate the death sentences, reiterating their view that the death penalty is always cruel and unusual under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, citing Gregg v. Georgia.