Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Kansas v. Cheever: Shrinking Heads and a Shrinking 5th Amendment

Kansas v. Cheever SCOTUS limits 5th amendment protections for mental evaluations.
The United States Supreme Court has decided Kansas v. Cheever with Justice Sotomayor delivering the Court's unanimous opinion. The decision overturns the Kansas Supreme Court and approves the prosecution’s use of statements a defendant made in a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation to rebut the defense expert's testimony that Cheever lacked the mens rea because of intoxication. Cheever did not consent to the evaluation and never raised a traditional mental health defense. At his trial for the 2005 killing of a Sheriff, the rebuttal evidence was allowed, Cheever was convicted and sentenced to death.

Robert Evon Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking in NY Federal Court

Robert Evon of Maine used soda vending machines to smuggle cocaine across the country
Now that's a Coke Machine!
Robert Evon, the Portland, Maine man accused in an international cocaine trafficking conspiracy, entered a guilty plea in the Northern District of New York on December 3, 2013. Sentencing was set for April 4, 2014. The plea documents revealed some interesting details about the case. All my coverage of the case is collected here.