Legal News

Breaking News: High Court Rules in Punis, Child Rape Cases

By Dan Slater

This just in from the One First Street, N.E., front: The Supreme Court has released its opinions in Exxon v. Baker, the punitive damages case, and Kennedy v. Louisiana, the case regarding the constitutionality of capital punishment for non-homicide child-rape.

In Exxon, eight justices concurred in a decision to remand and vacate the award (Alito did not participate). Scotus blog’s Tom Goldstein writes that the Court divided equally on whether maritime law permits punitives for the acts of agents. The Court deemed the punitives excessive based on maritime common law, holding the punitives should be equal to the compensatories. The Court ruled that the punitives are limited to $507.5 million. (Here’s past LB coverage of the Exxon case. For some analysis for the decision, go the California Punitive Damages blog.)

Faegre & Benson’s Brian O’Neill, one of the lead lawyers for the Valdez plaintiffs, says: “We’re extremely disappointed that the award was reduced. The idea that knowingly putting a drunk in charge of a supertanker through Prince William Sound, Alaska over the course of two years is not reprehensible is a ridiculous position to take.” He says the amount to be recovered — about $1 billion with interest added in, will be distributed to about 32,000 fishermen, and most should receive their recoveries by the end of the year. He says he will meet with his clients in Alaska later this week to discuss the Supreme Court ruling. “I’m embarrassed about our justice system and that’s what I’m going to tell them,” he says.

We reached out to Andy Frey, the Mayer Brown partner who filed an amicus brief on the “excessiveness” issue, urging the Court to limit the award to no more than a 1-1 ratio of punitive-to-compensatory damages. “Technically, the decision is limited to maritime law,” said Frey. “But the most interesting question is what this means outside of maritime law.” Frey says that outside federal maritime law, the decision could have to kinds of influences. First, he says, the Court seem to have re-endorsed the 1-1 ratio established in State Farm. Second, Frey thinks that state courts apply state common law ‘excessiveness’ principles might now apply more stringent limits on punitive damages than they have previously.

In the Kennedy case, according to Scotus blog, Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority, ruled categorically that the death penalty is forbidden for crimes against individuals that do not result in death. The decision nullified a Louisiana law that provided capital punishment for raping a child under age 12. The law was since amended to apply to raping a child under age 13. Justice Alito dissented, joined by Roberts, Scalia and Thomas. (Click here for past LB coverage of the Kennedy case.)

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on June 25, 2008 (boomark / email).