Justices Sotomayor and Jackson dissent from Supreme Court leaving an ‘injustice in place’

Key Points:

• Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the Supreme Court's decision to deny review of James Skinner's criminal appeal, highlighting a failure to address prosecutorial misconduct related to undisclosed evidence.
• Skinner was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for a 1998 murder, while his co-defendant Michael Wearry, who was initially sentenced to death, had his conviction vacated due to the prosecution's failure to disclose favorable evidence.
• Sotomayor criticized the court for not treating similarly situated defendants equally and for refusing to enforce precedents established in Brady v. Maryland, which requires prosecutors to disclose favorable evidence to the defense.
• The court's conservative majority declined to grant review despite the dissent, with state officials arguing that Skinner's confessions and corroborating evidence supported the jury's verdict, contrasting with Skinner's lawyers who contested the nature of the confessions presented at trial.
• The decision underscores ongoing divisions within the Supreme Court regarding criminal justice issues and the handling of prosecutorial misconduct claims.