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Hemphill v. New York
| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20-637 | N.Y. | Oct 5, 2021 | Jan 20, 2022 | 8-1 | Sotomayor | OT 2021 |
Holding: The trial court’s admission—over Hemphill’s objection—of the plea allocution transcript of an unavailable witness violated Hemphill’s Sixth Amendment right to confront the witnesses against him.
Judgment: Reversed and Remanded, 8-1, in an opinion by Justice Sotomayor on January 20, 2022. Justice Alito filed a concurring opinion, in which Justice Kavanaugh joined. Justice Thomas filed a dissenting opinion.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Justices affirm Crawford’s application of Sixth Amendment confrontation clause to testimonial evidence (Shaakirrah Sanders, January 25, 2022)
- Court rejects "door opening" as a Sixth Amendment confrontation-clause exception (Shaakirrah Sanders, January 20, 2022)
- Justices probe both sides in clash between confrontation clause and evidentiary rules (Shaakirrah Sanders, October 8, 2021)
- Will the court recognize New York’s “door opening” rule as an exception to the Sixth Amendment’s confrontation clause? (Shaakirrah Sanders, October 4, 2021)
- Cases on Boston Marathon bomber, CIA secrets headline October argument calendar (Amy Howe, July 13, 2021)
- Justices add confrontation-clause case to next term’s docket (Amy Howe, April 19, 2021)
- Two Sixth Amendment claims and an ERISA lawsuit (John Elwood, April 15, 2021)
- Petitions of the week: Re-opening church doors and opening evidentiary doors (Andrew Hamm, December 11, 2020)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| Nov 06 2020 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 10, 2020) |
| Nov 13 2020 | Waiver of right of respondent State of New York to respond filed. |
| Nov 17 2020 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/4/2020. |
| Nov 18 2020 | Response Requested. (Due December 18, 2020) |
| Nov 18 2020 | Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner Darrell Hemphill |
| Dec 04 2020 | Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 18, 2020 to February 1, 2021, submitted to The Clerk. |
| Dec 07 2020 | Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including February 1, 2021. |
| Dec 18 2020 | Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed. |
| Dec 18 2020 | Brief amici curiae of Evidence and Criminal Procedure Professors filed. |
| Jan 20 2021 | Motion to extend the time to file a response from February 1, 2021 to March 1, 2021, submitted to The Clerk. |
| Jan 21 2021 | Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including March 1, 2021. |
| Mar 01 2021 | Brief of respondent State of New York in opposition filed. |
| Mar 16 2021 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/1/2021. |
| Mar 16 2021 | Reply of petitioner Darrell Hemphill filed. (Distributed) |
| Apr 12 2021 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/16/2021. |
| Apr 19 2021 | Petition GRANTED. |
| Apr 23 2021 | Motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed. |
| Apr 27 2021 | 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 22, 2021. The time to file respondent's brief on the merits is extended to and including August 10, 2021. |
| May 14 2021 | Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Darrell Hemphill |
| Jun 22 2021 | Brief of petitioner Darrell Hemphill filed. |
| Jun 22 2021 | Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed) |
| Jun 29 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed. |
| Jun 29 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Constitutional Accountability Center filed. |
| Jun 29 2021 | Brief amici curiae of The Bronx Defenders, et al. filed. |
| Jun 29 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey filed. |
| Jun 29 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Evidence and Criminal Procedure Professors filed. |
| Jun 29 2021 | Brief amici curiae of The Innocence Project and Innocent Network filed. |
| Jun 29 2021 | Brief amici curiae of The American Civil Liberties Union, et al. filed. |
| Jun 29 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Richard D. Friedman filed. |
| Jul 13 2021 | ARGUMENT SET FOR Tuesday, October 12, 2021. |
| Jul 28 2021 | Record has been requested from the Court of Appeals of New York. |
| Aug 03 2021 | CIRCULATED |
| Aug 04 2021 | The Court of Appeals of New York record can be accessed on its website. SEALED record material from the court of appeals electronically received. The Supreme Court of New York, County of Bronx record material has been electronically received. |
| Aug 10 2021 | Brief of respondent State of New York filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 16 2021 | Motion for leave to file amicus brief filed by Adam Oustatcher. (Distributed) |
| Aug 17 2021 | Brief amici curiae of The District Attorneys Association of the State of New York and The National District Attorneys Association filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 17 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Brief of Utah, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, and South Dakota filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 03 2021 | Reply of petitioner Darrell Hemphill filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 08 2021 | ARGUMENT RESCHEDULED FOR Tuesday, October 5, 2021. |
| Sep 30 2021 | Motion for leave to file amicus brief filed by Adam Oustatcher DENIED. |
| Oct 05 2021 | Argued. For petitioner: Jeffrey L. Fisher, Stanford, Cal. For respondent: Gina Mignola, Assistant District Attorney, Bronx, N. Y. |
| Jan 20 2022 | Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Sotomayor, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Breyer, Alito, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, JJ., joined. Alito, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which Kavanaugh, J., joined. Thomas, J., filed a dissenting opinion. |
| Feb 22 2022 | MANDATE ISSUED. |
| Feb 22 2022 | JUDGMENT ISSUED. |
