The US Supreme Court recently made significant rulings on free speech and the death penalty. In a unanimous decision, the Court sided with the National Rifle Association (NRA) in its lawsuit against former New York state official Maria Vullo, allowing the NRA to proceed with its claim that Vullo violated its free speech rights by pressuring financial institutions to sever ties with the gun rights group. This case, NRA v Vullo, stems from actions taken by Vullo in the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida, mass shooting in 2018, where she fined insurers over $13 million for offering NRA-endorsed products deemed illegal by New York law.
In a separate 6-3 decision, the Court rejected Danny Lee Jones’s appeal for a new sentencing hearing in a death penalty case, asserting that errors in his legal defense did not warrant resentencing. Jones, convicted of murder in 1993, argued he was deprived of effective counsel during his sentencing.
These rulings come as the Supreme Court prepares for a busy June, with anticipated decisions on key issues affecting US democracy, presidential power, abortion, and gun rights. The outcomes underscore the Court’s current conservative supermajority’s influence on pivotal legal matters.
Read more at the Guardian…