Eighth Amendment

Florida cases seeking death penalty for child sex abuse could test precedent in Supreme Court

Two Florida prosecutions could test the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in 2008 that held that the death penalty for child rape is unconstitutional.

Oct 30, 2025 10:01 AM CDT

11th Circuit upholds $144K sanction against food industry lawyer for repeating failed allegations in second suit

A federal appeals court has upheld a $144,000 attorney fees sanction imposed on New York food labeling lawyer Spencer Sheehan for filing a false advertising claim against Big Lots in a Florida federal court that repeated allegations in a failed lawsuit in another jurisdiction.

Aug 28, 2025 12:12 PM CDT

Compromise decision in Trump civil case tosses nearly $500M disgorgement order to pave way for appeal

A splintered New York appeals court gave President Donald Trump a partial victory Thursday, when it vacated an order for him to disgorge nearly $500 million for inflating the value of assets in statements to lenders and insurers.

Aug 21, 2025 1:07 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: What were the sleeper cases of this SCOTUS term?

As always, the end of the U.S. Supreme Court’s term was filled with important cases that received a great deal of media attention. But the term also had a number of significant decisions that received much less media attention.

Jul 29, 2025 10:56 AM CDT

SCOTUS will consider impact of death row inmate’s multiple IQ tests in determining execution eligibility

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether and how courts can consider multiple IQ tests when considering whether a death row inmate is intellectually disabled and ineligible for execution.

Jun 12, 2025 3:51 PM CDT

Seeing power abuse by federal judges, 5th Circuit judge warns of ‘hundreds of kings in judicial robes’

A federal appeals judge issued a concurrence to his majority opinion in a death-penalty case last week to remark on federal trial judges who, in his view, abuse their powers to overturn the will of the electorate.

Apr 21, 2025 3:32 PM CDT

Inmate executed with nitrogen gas after Supreme Court declines to intervene, with 4 dissents

A Louisiana death row inmate was executed Tuesday by nitrogen gas, the first time that the execution method was used in Louisiana and the fifth time that it was used in the United States.

Mar 19, 2025 10:02 AM CDT

9 years of solitary confinement violates Eighth Amendment, jurors find; case later settles

New York has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a punitive damages claim in a case in which jurors found that nine years of solitary confinement violated the Eighth Amendment rights of an inmate.

Oct 8, 2024 9:00 AM CDT

Death row inmate held in solitary confinement for 26 years can sue, federal appeals court rules

A death row inmate with a known history of serious mental illness can sue Pennsylvania’s corrections chief for holding him in solitary confinement for 26 years, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

Sep 26, 2024 9:22 AM CDT

Death-penalty case was epitome of ‘extreme judicial malfunction,’ 6th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has granted habeas to a death row inmate who challenged his sentencing, holding that an Ohio judge displayed an objective risk of bias partly because he enlisted the prosecutor to write the death-penalty opinion.

Aug 12, 2024 11:15 AM CDT

South Carolina’s execution menu is not cruel and unusual, state supreme court says

The South Carolina Supreme Court has upheld a state law that gives death row inmates a choice of three execution methods: electrocution, firing squad or lethal injection.

Aug 1, 2024 3:05 PM CDT

Lifetime voting ban for felony convictions isn’t punishment, 5th Circuit says in Eighth Amendment challenge

A lifetime ban on voting by people convicted of some felonies in Mississippi does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment, a federal appeals court ruled last week in an en banc opinion.

Jul 22, 2024 11:17 AM CDT

Supreme Court upholds ban on sleeping in public, says law does not punish status of homelessness

A ban on sleeping or camping on public property in the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, is not cruel and unusual punishment, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday in a case brought by homeless plaintiffs.

Jun 28, 2024 9:56 AM CDT

Another state approves death penalty for child rape

Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill last week that authorizes the death penalty for aggravated rape of a child by an adult.

May 16, 2024 2:14 PM CDT

Driver won’t obey judge’s order to apologize for his command to police officer

An Alabama man ticketed for speeding acknowledges telling the police officer standing in front of his car to “get your ass out of the way.” But he is refusing to obey a judge’s order to write an apology letter.

May 16, 2024 12:29 PM CDT