Roper v. Simmons, a Recent Supreme Court Landmark Case

The United States Supreme Court was established in 1789. Over the course of more than 200 years, the Supreme Court has heard a number of landmark cases. A landmark case can be defined as a court case that is studied by legal professionals and scholars due to its historical and legal significance.

A relatively recent example of a landmark case heard by the US Supreme Court is Roper v. Simmons, which was decided in 2005. The case centered on Christopher Simmons, a 17-year-old, and younger accomplices Charles Benjamin and John Tessmer, though Tessmer dropped out of the plot prior to the events. Together, the trio made a plan to commit burglary and murder a 46-year-old woman, Shirley Nite Crook. The plan was carried out in 1993.

The subsequent trial was relatively straightforward, as there was ample evidence to render a guilty verdict, not to mention Simmons’ confession and video reenactment of the crimes. Tessmer testified against Simmons, confirming the premeditated nature of the murder. Despite Simmons’ age and lack of any prior criminal activity, the jury recommended the death penalty. Simmons attempted to set aside the conviction and sentence, in part due to his age, but the court rejected the motion. Simmons then made an appeal, and the case began to make its way through the US court system.

A major turning point in the ongoing case came in 2002, when the US Supreme Court overturned the death penalty for individuals living with intellectual disabilities in Atkins v. Virginia. Simmons used this decision to petition for post-conviction relief, and the Supreme Court of Missouri ultimately cited the Eighth Amendment, which outlaws cruel and unusual punishment, to deliver Simmons a sentence of life in prison without parole. The state disagreed with the sentencing, and the US Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

Arguments began in 2004 and centered on the death penalty for juvenile offenders as cruel and unusual punishment as outlined by the Eighth Amendment. Arguments also drew attention to Thompson v. Oklahoma, a 1988 Supreme Court decision that prohibited the death penalty for individuals under the age of 16. However, Stanford v. Kentucky, in 1989, had upheld the use of capital punishment for 16- and 17-year-olds who had committed a capital offense.

Another focus involved the phrase “evolving standards of decency.” On the same day as the Stanford v. Kentucky ruling, in Penry v. Lynaugh, the court ruled that individuals living with intellectual disabilities could be executed, a ruling that was overturned in Atkins v. Virginia on the grounds of evolving standards of decency. These new standards led to such executions falling under the concept of cruel and unusual punishment and therefore being deemed unconstitutional. Arguments also referenced a “national consensus” that had formed against the death penalty as a form of punishment.

In a controversial 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court determined that the death penalty could no longer be used as a sentence against criminals under the age of 18. The ruling immediately reversed sentences for 72 individuals on death row who had been sentenced for crimes committed at the age of 17 or younger, including 29 individuals in Texas and 13 death row inmates in Alabama.

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The Lasting Impact of the Marshall Court

The Marshall Court is a term used to describe the United States Supreme Court between 1801 and 1835, during which time John Marshall served in the role of chief justice. He was the court’s fourth chief justice and the first justice to serve in the role for an extended period of time. A number of notable cases were heard by the Supreme Court during the Marshall years.

The Marshall Court made its first major decision in 1803 with Marbury v. Madison. Marshall authored the court’s unanimous decision, which brought an end to Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 on the grounds that it conflicted with the court’s jurisdiction as outlined by the US Constitution. The landmark case cemented the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review, as the decision superseded a law that had been written by the US Congress.

Seven years later, the court heard Fletcher v. Peck. The court’s opinion was once again written by Marshall, who maintained that the state of Georgia had been influenced by bribery in the decision to void land grants to the Yazoo nation. Similar to the Marbury v. Madison case, Fletcher v. Peck marked the first time that the Supreme Court determined that a state law was unconstitutional.

Another seven years passed before the court heard Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee. This time, the court’s opinion was authored by justice Joseph Story. Story wrote that the Supreme Court held appellate power against state courts when it came to the US Constitution and interactions with both federal laws and treaties. The Supreme Court reaffirmed this position in 1821 in Cohens v. Virginia.

In 1819, the court heard two important cases: McCulloch v. Maryland and Dartmouth College v. Woodward. In the former, the court unanimously decided that a state has no power to tax a federal bank operating within the state. In the latter decision, the court barred the state of New Hampshire from altering the college’s charter, a ruling that protected corporate contracts from state interference.

Johnson v. M’Intosh was heard by Chief Justice Marshall and the Supreme Court in 1823. The complex case involved a number of plaintiffs, mostly British subjects, who claimed property that had been sold by members of the Piankeshaw nation prior to the American Revolution. In a landmark decision, the court ruled that private citizens cannot purchase lands from Native Americans.

Gibbons v. Ogden was an influential case heard by the Supreme Court in 1824. Once again, Marshall and the court struck down a state law, this time from New York. In the decision, the court ruled that the legislation in question granted the state a monopoly on local steamship operations. In this particular instance, the court demonstrated its ability to use the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution to regulate commerce.

Additional cases heard by John Marshall include Worcester v. Georgia in 1832 and Barron v. Baltimore in 1833. In the former case, the court ruled that the state of Georgia lacked the power to govern Native American tribes. The latter was a unanimous opinion that determined that the Bill of Rights could not be applied to state governments. However, the decision was mostly overruled following the ratification of the 14th Amendment and later Supreme Court rulings.

John Marshall passed away in 1834, bringing an end to the Marshall Court. He was followed as chief justice by Roger Brooke Taney, best known for the Dred Scott decision in 1857.

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