WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court won’t consider reinstating the conviction of a Michigan man charged with a 1988 murder in a drug dispute.
The justices rejected Michigan’s appeal of a federal court ruling that overturned the conviction of Junior Fred Blackston.
A federal district judge ruled in 2013 that Blackston was denied a fair trial in state court because he wasn’t allowed to attack the credibility of two key witnesses who recanted their testimony between his first and second trials. The earlier testimony was read to jurors during the second trial.
A federal appeals court agreed that Blackston had a right to challenge the earlier testimony with written statements from the witnesses saying it was wrong.
Justice Antonin Scalia issued a written dissent, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, saying the high court should have taken up the case.
- Posted December 03, 2015
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
High court won't review Michigan case
headlines Macomb
- Lawyer publishes first of three children’s books
- An appeals court dismisses charges against a Michigan election worker who downloaded a voter list
- Supreme Court denies rehearing request by attorneys sanctioned for meritless election lawsuit
- Nessel testifies in support of BRITE Act
- A lab chief's sentencing for meningitis deaths is postponed, extending grief of victims' families
headlines National
- New Legalese: You may have heard a deepfake, but what about ‘Twiqbal’?
- From Intake to Outcome: An in-house lawyer’s guide to matter management solutions
- 2 BigLaw firms in merger talks that could produce 1,600-lawyer firm with top 50 revenue
- Send in the paralegals
- Lawyer reprimanded after mistakenly emailing opposing counsel with plan to avoid judge’s call
- ‘I don’t play well’ judge who threatened to track down, jail misbehaving litigant gets tossed from case