Ramos v. Louisiana
| Docket No. | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-5924 | Oct 7, 2019 | Apr 20, 2020 | 6-3 | Gorsuch | OT 2019 |
Holding: The Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial, as incorporated against the states, requires a unanimous verdict to convict a defendant of a serious offense.
Judgment: Reversed, 6-3, in an opinion by Justice Gorsuch on April 20, 2020. Justice Gorsuch delivered the opinion of the court with respect to Parts I, II"A, III, and IV"B"1, in which Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kavanaugh joined; an opinion with respect to Parts II"B, IV"B"2, and V, in which Justices Ginsburg, Breyer and Sotomayor joined; and an opinion with respect to Part IV"A, in which Justices Ginsburg and Breyer joined. Justice Sotomayor filed an opinion concurring as to all but Part IV"A. Justice kavanaugh filed an opinion concurring in part. Justice Thomas filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Justice Alito filed a dissenting opinion, in which Chief Justice Roberts joined, and in which Justice Kagan joined as to all but Part III"D.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Justices to consider retroactive effect of unanimous jury ruling (Amy Howe, May 4, 2020)
- Live blog of orders and opinions (Update: Completed) (Kalvis Golde, April 20, 2020)
- Opinion analysis: With debate over adherence to precedent, justices scrap nonunanimous jury rule (Amy Howe, April 20, 2020)
- Argument analysis: Justices weigh constitutionality of non-unanimous jury rule (Amy Howe, October 8, 2019)
- A view from the courtroom: Two-minute warning (Mark Walsh, October 7, 2019)
- Argument preview: Court to consider whether right to unanimous jury verdict applies to state criminal trials (Amy Howe, September 30, 2019)
- Overview of the courts criminal docket for OT 19 sizeable and significant (Rory Little, September 9, 2019)
- Justices grant four new cases (Corrected) (Amy Howe, March 18, 2019)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| 09/07/2018 | Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due October 11, 2018) |
| 09/20/2018 | Waiver of right of respondent Louisiana to respond filed. |
| 09/27/2018 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/12/2018. |
| 10/09/2018 | Response Requested. (Due November 8, 2018) |
| 11/08/2018 | Brief of respondent Louisiana in opposition filed. |
| 11/27/2018 | Reply of petitioner Evangelisto Ramos filed. (Distributed) |
| 11/29/2018 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/4/2019. |
| 01/07/2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/11/2019. |
| 01/14/2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/18/2019. |
| 02/04/2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/15/2019. |
| 02/19/2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/22/2019. |
| 02/25/2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/1/2019. |
| 03/11/2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/15/2019. |
| 03/18/2019 | Motion to proceed in forma pauperis and petition for a writ of certiorari GRANTED. |
| 03/22/2019 | Motion to appoint counsel filed by petitioner Evangelisto Ramos. |
| 04/03/2019 | Motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed. |
| 04/03/2019 | Motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioner's brief on the merits is extended to and including June 11, 2019. The time to file respondent's brief on the merits is extended to and including August 16, 2019. |
| 04/10/2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/26/2019. |
| 04/29/2019 | Motion to appoint counsel filed by petitioner GRANTED, and G. Ben Cohen, Esq., of New Orleans, Louisiana, is appointed to serve as counsel for petitioner in this case. |
| 06/11/2019 | Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed) |
| 06/11/2019 | Brief of petitioner Evangelisto Ramos filed. |
| 06/17/2019 | Brief amicus curiae of The Rutherford Institute filed. |
| 06/18/2019 | Brief amicus curiae of NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. filed. |
| 06/18/2019 | Brief amicus curiae of American Bar Association filed. |
| 06/18/2019 | Brief amicus curiae of The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed. |
| 06/18/2019 | Brief amici curiae of Law Professors and Social Scientists filed. |
| 06/18/2019 | Amicus brief of Prominent Current and Former State Executive and Judicial Officers, Law Professors, and the OCDLA not accepted for filing. (June 20, 2019)(Corrected version submitted) |
| 06/18/2019 | Brief amici curiae of Prominent Current and Former State Executive and Judicial Officers, Law Professors, and the OCDLA filed. |
| 06/18/2019 | Brief amicus curiae of Institute for Justice filed. |
| 06/18/2019 | Brief amici curiae of State of New York et al. filed. |
| 06/18/2019 | Brief amici curiae of Innocence Project New Orleans and The Innocence Project filed. |
| 06/18/2019 | Brief amici curiae of American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation of Louisiana filed (To be recovered-- case No. noted should read 18-5924 rather than 18-5942.) |
| 07/01/2019 | SET FOR ARGUMENT on Monday, October 7, 2019. |
| 08/01/2019 | CIRCULATED |
| 08/16/2019 | Brief of respondent Louisiana filed. (Distributed) |
| 08/16/2019 | Record requested from the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, 4th Circuit. |
| 08/23/2019 | Amicus brief of State of Oregon not accepted for filing. (August 26, 2019) (Duplicate efiling) |
| 08/23/2019 | Brief amicus curiae of State of Oregon filed. (Distributed) |
| 08/23/2019 | Brief amici curiae of State of Utah, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| 09/06/2019 | Reply of petitioner Evangelisto Ramos filed. (Distributed) |
| 09/20/2019 | Record received from the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, 4th Circuit (1 box of filings, 1 box of posterboard exhibits, and 2 CD's of exhibits in electronic format). |
| 10/07/2019 | Argued. For petitioner: Jeffrey L. Fisher, Stanford, Cal. For respondent: Elizabeth Murrill, Solicitor General, Baton Rouge, La. |
| 04/20/2020 | Judgment REVERSED. Gorsuch, J., announced the judgment of the Court, and delivered the <a href = 'https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/18-5924_n6io.pdf'>opinion</a> of the Court with respect to Parts I, II"A, III, and IV"B"1, in which Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kavanaugh, JJ., joined, an opinion with respect to Parts II"B, IV"B"2, and V, in which Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor, JJ., joined, and an opinion with respect to Part IV"A, in which Ginsburg and Breyer, JJ., joined. Sotomayor, J., filed an opinion concurring as to all but Part IV"A. Kavanaugh, J., filed an opinion concurring in part. Thomas, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Alito, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Roberts, C. J., joined, and in which Kagan, J., joined as to all but Part III"D. |
| 05/22/2020 | MANDATE ISSUED |
| 05/22/2020 | JUDGMENT ISSUED |
| 01/11/2023 | Record returned to the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, 4th Circuit (1 box of filings, 1 box of posterboard exhibits, and 2 CD's of exhibits in electronic format). |