Ramos v. Louisiana
| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-5924 | La. Ct. App. | 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)
- Opinion analysis: With debate over adherence to precedent, justices scrap nonunanimous jury rule (Amy Howe, April 20, 2020)
- Live blog of orders and opinions (Update: Completed) (Kalvis Golde, April 20, 2020)
- Argument analysis: Justices weigh constitutionality of non-unanimous jury rule (Amy Howe, October 7, 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 court’s 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 |
|---|---|
| Sep 07 2018 | Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due October 11, 2018) |
| Sep 20 2018 | Waiver of right of respondent Louisiana to respond filed. |
| Sep 27 2018 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/12/2018. |
| Oct 09 2018 | Response Requested. (Due November 8, 2018) |
| Nov 08 2018 | Brief of respondent Louisiana in opposition filed. |
| Nov 27 2018 | Reply of petitioner Evangelisto Ramos filed. (Distributed) |
| Nov 29 2018 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/4/2019. |
| Jan 07 2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/11/2019. |
| Jan 14 2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/18/2019. |
| Feb 04 2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/15/2019. |
| Feb 19 2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/22/2019. |
| Feb 25 2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/1/2019. |
| Mar 11 2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/15/2019. |
| Mar 18 2019 | Motion to proceed in forma pauperis and petition for a writ of certiorari GRANTED. |
| Mar 22 2019 | Motion to appoint counsel filed by petitioner Evangelisto Ramos. |
| Apr 03 2019 | Motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed. |
| Apr 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. |
| Apr 10 2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/26/2019. |
| Apr 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. |
| Jun 11 2019 | Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed) |
| Jun 11 2019 | Brief of petitioner Evangelisto Ramos filed. |
| Jun 17 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of The Rutherford Institute filed. |
| Jun 18 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. filed. |
| Jun 18 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of American Bar Association filed. |
| Jun 18 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed. |
| Jun 18 2019 | Brief amici curiae of Law Professors and Social Scientists filed. |
| Jun 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) |
| Jun 18 2019 | Brief amici curiae of Prominent Current and Former State Executive and Judicial Officers, Law Professors, and the OCDLA filed. |
| Jun 18 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of Institute for Justice filed. |
| Jun 18 2019 | Brief amici curiae of State of New York et al. filed. |
| Jun 18 2019 | Brief amici curiae of Innocence Project New Orleans and The Innocence Project filed. |
| Jun 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.) |
| Jul 01 2019 | SET FOR ARGUMENT on Monday, October 7, 2019. |
| Aug 01 2019 | CIRCULATED |
| Aug 16 2019 | Brief of respondent Louisiana filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 16 2019 | Record requested from the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, 4th Circuit. |
| Aug 23 2019 | Amicus brief of State of Oregon not accepted for filing. (August 26, 2019) (Duplicate efiling) |
| Aug 23 2019 | Brief amicus curiae of State of Oregon filed. (Distributed) |
| Aug 23 2019 | Brief amici curiae of State of Utah, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 06 2019 | Reply of petitioner Evangelisto Ramos filed. (Distributed) |
| Sep 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). |
| Oct 07 2019 | Argued. For petitioner: Jeffrey L. Fisher, Stanford, Cal. For respondent: Elizabeth Murrill, Solicitor General, Baton Rouge, La. |
| Apr 20 2020 | Judgment REVERSED. Gorsuch, J., announced the judgment of the Court, and delivered the opinion 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. |
| May 22 2020 | MANDATE ISSUED |
| May 22 2020 | JUDGMENT ISSUED |
| Jan 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). |
