Supreme Court Rules 6-3 That Death Row Inmate Was Not Denied Effective Legal Representation

All 3 liberal justices dissented from decision overturning the Ninth Circuit, which found an Arizona man was entitled to a new sentencing hearing.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito poses during a group photo of the justices at the Supreme Court in Washington, on April 23, 2021. Erin Schaff/Reuters

The Supreme Court voted 6-3 on May 30 to overturn a lower court ruling that found that an Arizona death row inmate had received ineffective assistance of counsel during the sentencing process.

The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees a criminal defendant the right to effective assistance of counsel. At issue in this case is whether a federal appeals court properly weighed the mitigating and aggravating evidence regarding the inmate before ruling that respondent Danny Lee Jones was prejudiced by ineffective counsel during sentencing.