South Carolina v. Gathers
South Carolina v. Gathers | |
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Argued March 28, 1989 Decided June 12, 1989 | |
Full case name | Demitrius Gathers v. Tennessee |
Citations |
490 U.S. 805 (more) 109 S. Ct. 2207; 104 L. Ed. 2d 876; 1989 U.S. LEXIS 2817 |
Prior history | Certiorari to the Supreme Court of South Carolina |
Holding | |
Victim impact evidence is only relevant at the sentencing stage and thus admissible, if it directly relates to the circumstances of the crime. The content of religious cards possessed by the victim cannot equate to such relevance, and contribute nothing to the defendant's blameworthiness. | |
Court membership | |
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Case opinions | |
Majority | Brennan, joined by White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens |
Concurrence | White |
Dissent | O'Connor, joined by Rehnquist, Kennedy |
Dissent | Scalia |
Laws applied | |
U.S. Const. amend. VIII | |
Overruled by | |
Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808 (1991) |
South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805 (1989),[1] was a United States Supreme Court case which held that testimony in the form of a victim impact statement is only admissible during the sentencing phase of a trial if it directly relates to the "circumstances of the crime". This case was later overruled by the Supreme Court decision in Payne v. Tennessee.[2]
Opinion of the Court
In a majority opinion by Justice Brennan, the Court held that Booth v. Maryland (1987) left open the possibility that the kind of information contained in victim impact statements could be admissible if it "relate[d] directly to the circumstances of the crime." Though South Carolina asserted that such is the case here, the Court disagreed, holding that the content of the cards at issue to be irrelevant to the "circumstances of the crime."
Justice O'Connor authored a dissenting opinion, joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justice Kennedy; Justice Scalia also dissented, expressly arguing that Booth v. Maryland should be overruled.
Aftermath
The impact[3] of the case was somewhat short-lived, as two years later the Rehnquist Court decided Payne, which has since had a significant impact in victim's rights,[4] criminology and the lives of the parties involved.
See also
- Crime in the United States
- Criminology
- Crime victim advocacy program
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 490
- List of United States Supreme Court cases
- Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
- List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Rehnquist Court
- Victimology
- Victim Support
- Victim study
References
- ↑ South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805 (1989).
This article incorporates public domain material from this U.S government document. - ↑ Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808 (1991).
- ↑ Slowinski, Richard Lee (1990). "Note: South Carolina v. Gathers: Prohibiting the Use of Victim-Related Information in Capital Punishment Proceedings". Catholic University Law Review. Fall (40): 215.
- ↑ Donahoe, Joel F. (1999). "The Changing Role of Victim Impact Evidence in Capital Cases". Western Criminology Review. 2 (1). Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
External links
- Text of South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805 (1989) is available from: Cornell CourtListener Google Scholar Justia Oyez (oral argument audio)
- Discussion of the death penalty