Attorney General Jeff
Landry Lauds Decision in Edwards v. Vannoy
BATON ROUGE, LA – The United States Supreme Court today ruled that new
rules of criminal procedure do not apply to final cases. Upon receiving
the ruling in Edwards v. Vannoy, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry applauded the decision that final convictions in
Louisiana will be upheld – ensuring crime victims get the justice they were
promised and deserve:
“As the late great Justice Antonin Scalia famously and correctly opined, ‘the
right to jury trial is fundamental to our system of criminal procedure, and
States are bound to enforce the Sixth Amendment’s guarantees as [the Supreme
Court] interpret them. But it does not follow that, when a criminal defendant
has had a full trial and one round of appeals in which the State faithfully
applied the Constitution as [the Supreme Court] understood it at the time, he
may nevertheless continue to litigate his claims indefinitely in hopes that
[the Supreme Court] will one day have a change of heart.'
Today, the Supreme Court reaffirmed long-final convictions involving rape,
murder, child molestation, and other violent crimes. It is a victory for
Louisiana crime victims like the ones whom Thedrick Edwards confessed to
raping, robbing, and kidnapping.
At a time when crime rates are through the sky and attempts to erode law and
order are incessant, it is assuring that the Supreme Court upheld the rule of
law.
I applaud my Solicitor General Liz Murrill and
our Federalism Division for their great work in this case. They, the rest of my
office, and I will continue to do all that we can to increase public safety in
Louisiana and give crime victims the justice they deserve.”
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A copy of the ruling may be found at https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/19-5807_086c.pdf.