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Real splits on criminal justice not liberal-conservative

A common theme on this blog is that divisions on criminal justice issues - despite common stereotyping - don't typically fall along partisan or traditional ideological lines. The typical culture war debates that dominate American politics simply don't cut the same way when it comes to issues of crime and punishment.Yesterday's US Supreme Court decision in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachussetts offers a perfect example. In that ruling, the Court narrowly upheld application of the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause to testimony by forensic experts.Look at the breakdown of the 5-4 vote: Justices Ginsburg, Stevens and Souter joined the two self-styled "originalists" on the court, Scalia and Thomas, while the opposition saw the conservative Alito and Chief Justice Roberts siding with Justice Breyer, who is normally considered a "liberal," and Justice Kennedy, who authored the dissent, normally considered the "swing vote" on the court, though not in this case...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on June 26, 2009 (boomark / email).