Latest Case: State v. Brake (Criminal Law)

The Least Interesting Branch: Why Supreme Court Leaks Reveal Little

MICHAEL C. DORF

Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on a recent series of articles published on CNN.com purporting to reveal deep secrets about the U.S. Supreme Court’s deliberations. Dorf points out that the so-called revelations about the Court reveal little or nothing that Court watchers don’t already know or infer, which, paints a reassuring picture of the Court as operating behind closed doors exactly as we expect it to.

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State v. Brake

Docket: 20S-CR-499

Opinion Date: August 4, 2020

Judge: Per Curiam

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of four felony counts and dismissing a firearm enhancement sua sponte, holding that the State failed to meet its burden to show that the trial court's implied finding of waiver and subsequent sua sponte dismissal of the firearm enhancement were contrary to law. After a trial, the jury found Defendant guilty of four felony counts, including aggravated battery as a Level 3 felony. After the trial court accepted the verdicts and excused the jury the State raised a firearm enhancement. The trial court responded that the enhancement was dismissed as a matter of course. After Defendant was sentenced the State appealed, arguing that the trial court abused its discretion by dismissing the firearm enhancement. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the State waived the enhancement and that the trial court's sua sponte dismissal of the firearm enhancement was not contrary to law.