The Supreme Court declined to hear a case from a Colorado inmate who argued that his prison sentence exceeded the maximum allowed, and it did so without input from Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, who has a history with the petitioner.
Delmart Edward Vreeland is serving a 336-year-to-life sentence after being convicted of child prostitution, sexual assault, sexual exploitation of children and distribution of cocaine in 2008. He asked the Supreme Court to hear his case and ultimately vacate or correct his sentence, arguing that Colorado courts violated his Sixth Amendment right by allowing a judge to decide facts that enhanced his sentence under a habitual-offender law rather than a jury.
The Supreme Court declined to hear the case, and the order list issued on Monday stated that Gorsuch took no part in its consideration. While some justices have started giving specific reasons for declining to participate in a case, Gorsuch gave no reason, though it’s likely because he knows the petitioner.
Before he was a Supreme Court justice, Gorsuch served on the…
This is how it is supposed to be done when one has integrity on the high court and any court for that matter (ahem, CJ Roberts). Good on Justice Gorsuch for doing this and not just because there is new monitoring software in place now. Read Without Precedent (Graves) about the story of the current SCOTUS Chief Justice wordsmithing his way to not recusing himself when he should’ve. Behind the curtain, some high court members are embarrassing with their conduct and lack of ethics. PFRs need to be wary of wanting some cases reviewed by the high court with the current CJ on the bench. Read the book to see why.