Ring Vs Arizona Case Study
Ring v. Arizona
122 S Ct 2428 (2002)
Facts of the case:
On November 28, 1994, The body of an armored van driver was found dead inside the vehicle. Also, there was more than $800,000 missing from the van leading police to believe that this was a robbery and homicide case. There were no witnesses to the crime except a local bystander who stated that two vehicles, a van and a red truck were speeding down the road earlier that day and had neglected to stop at the intersection where there is a stop sign posted.
Based on a tip, police were able to locate the red pickup truck and it's owner, Timothy Ring. Police then listened to Timothy Ring's phone conversations and quickly learned that he was involved with both the robbery and shooting. In the …show more content…
The US Supreme Court's Decision:
The Supreme Court decided that juries rather than judges must make the determinations that subject a convicted murder to the death penalty. This was decided on a 7 to 2 decision.
Justice Ginsburg explained the decision for the Ring case. She stated that it is unusual for the court not to follow its past decisions.
"But the doctrine is not unyielding: we have overturned prior decisions when there is strong reason for setting the law straight. This is such a case," she said.
The Apprendi decision dictated its application to the death sentence context, stating:
"The right to trial by jury guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment would be senselessly diminished if it encompassed the fact-finding necessary to increase a defendant's sentence by two years, but not the fact-finding necessary to put him to death".
Justice Ginsburg concluded that the Sixth Amendment applies to both.
Significance:
This case set forth the precedent that juries, not the judge, will have the ability to exercise their discretion when deciding aggravating factors which could lead to the enforcement of the death …show more content…
The answer must be yes. The jury and not the judge is responsible for determining the weight of the evidence and if there are any "aggravating factors". This can also be seen in the case of United States v. Gaudin:
"It must be a jury determination that [he] is guilty of every element of the crime with which he is charged, beyond a reasonable doubt." (515 S Ct. 506 (1995)
In Furman v Georgia, the Supreme Court found that it must be the jury and not the judge that enforces the death penalty:
"It is insisted that the channeling and limiting of the sentencer's discretion in imposing the death penalty is a fundamental constitutional requirement for sufficiently minimizing the risk of wholly arbitrary and capricious action." (408 S Ct. 238 (1972).
Allowing a judge to decide the weight of different factors in a case is defeating of the point of the jury. The jury is there to act as an unbiased, fair, and reasonable representation of society. It is my final opinion that it is the responsibility of the jury, and not the judge, to determine the weight of evidence, guilt, innocence, or whether the death penalty should be instated for a specific
122 S Ct 2428 (2002)
Facts of the case:
On November 28, 1994, The body of an armored van driver was found dead inside the vehicle. Also, there was more than $800,000 missing from the van leading police to believe that this was a robbery and homicide case. There were no witnesses to the crime except a local bystander who stated that two vehicles, a van and a red truck were speeding down the road earlier that day and had neglected to stop at the intersection where there is a stop sign posted.
Based on a tip, police were able to locate the red pickup truck and it's owner, Timothy Ring. Police then listened to Timothy Ring's phone conversations and quickly learned that he was involved with both the robbery and shooting. In the …show more content…
The US Supreme Court's Decision:
The Supreme Court decided that juries rather than judges must make the determinations that subject a convicted murder to the death penalty. This was decided on a 7 to 2 decision.
Justice Ginsburg explained the decision for the Ring case. She stated that it is unusual for the court not to follow its past decisions.
"But the doctrine is not unyielding: we have overturned prior decisions when there is strong reason for setting the law straight. This is such a case," she said.
The Apprendi decision dictated its application to the death sentence context, stating:
"The right to trial by jury guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment would be senselessly diminished if it encompassed the fact-finding necessary to increase a defendant's sentence by two years, but not the fact-finding necessary to put him to death".
Justice Ginsburg concluded that the Sixth Amendment applies to both.
Significance:
This case set forth the precedent that juries, not the judge, will have the ability to exercise their discretion when deciding aggravating factors which could lead to the enforcement of the death …show more content…
The answer must be yes. The jury and not the judge is responsible for determining the weight of the evidence and if there are any "aggravating factors". This can also be seen in the case of United States v. Gaudin:
"It must be a jury determination that [he] is guilty of every element of the crime with which he is charged, beyond a reasonable doubt." (515 S Ct. 506 (1995)
In Furman v Georgia, the Supreme Court found that it must be the jury and not the judge that enforces the death penalty:
"It is insisted that the channeling and limiting of the sentencer's discretion in imposing the death penalty is a fundamental constitutional requirement for sufficiently minimizing the risk of wholly arbitrary and capricious action." (408 S Ct. 238 (1972).
Allowing a judge to decide the weight of different factors in a case is defeating of the point of the jury. The jury is there to act as an unbiased, fair, and reasonable representation of society. It is my final opinion that it is the responsibility of the jury, and not the judge, to determine the weight of evidence, guilt, innocence, or whether the death penalty should be instated for a specific