Link to Supreme Court order list from this morning.
The only thing of significance was that the Justices granted the following case as a replacement for Mathena v. Malvo which was mooted when Virginia changed their law.
Issue : Whether the Eighth Amendment requires the sentencing authority to make a finding that a juvenile is permanently incorrigible before imposing a sentence of life without parole.
This case will likely be heard in the October sitting of the October 2020 Term and I would expect a relatively quick decision. The Justices were likely very close to releasing an opinion in Mathena v Malvo when that case was mooted, so they pretty much already know where they stand on this matter.
The issue at hand here is one that needs to be resolved.
This is not an in forma pauperis case, meaning somebody, likely the Petitioner’s family, paid the Supreme Court docketing fee and any other fees.
Being a criminal defense attorney is not a path to riches, other than a very few select elite attorneys. Probably not going to make big money off a case like this.
The only public money at issue here is the salary of its state attorney who will be representing Mississippi at the Supreme Court. The Petitioner is going to be locked up in prison for a number of years, win or lose, so Mississippi will be paying to support him in prison either way.
