The Volokh Conspiracy - Now <i>That's</i> an Angry Dissent:

The Sixth Circuit is well-known for its ideological divides and sometimes-nasty dissents in habeas cases, but the dissent in Tucker v. Palmer last week from Judge Damon Keith seems to set a new standard. The issue in the case was whether under the deferential AEDPA standard, the state court had unreasonably determined that there was sufficient evidence to uphold the verdict in a state burglary case. The majority concluded that under the doubly-deferential standard, the evidence was sufficient for the state court to have upheld the verdict. Judge Keith disagreed. Here's how he began his dissent:

The majority's opinion flagrantly violates the Fourteenth Amendment. I therefore vehemently DISSENT. It is “[b]etter that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.” 4 William Blackstone, Commentaries at 358. This powerful and wise axiom reveals that a court commits the ultimate injustice by convicting and imprisoning a person based on insufficient evidence. Such a judicial transgression contravenes the most important right our Constitution affords the accused: “the Due Process Clause [of the Fourteenth Amendment] protects the accused against conviction except upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which he is charged.” In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970); U.S. Const. Amend. XIV, § 1. Apparently neither the state trial judge nor the majority ever read or understood the Constitution, for in the instant matter, they recklessly disregarded this fundamental requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt by convicting Defendant Raymond Tucker of home invasion without any evidence sufficient to prove his guilt.

Wow. There's nasty, and then there's "accusing the other judges of never having read or understood the Constitution" nasty. In case you're wondering, the majority opinion was by Senior District Judge Harold Ackerman, a Carter appointee to the District of New Jersey, joined by Jeff Sutton, who as many readers know was a Bush 43 appointee to the Sixth Circuit.

Thanks to Steven Wells for the link.

	[Orin Kerr, September 8, 2008 at 5:15pm] Trackbacks Now That's an Angry Dissent: The Sixth Circuit is well-known for its ideological divides and sometimes-nasty dissents in habeas cases, but the dissent in Tucker v. Palmer last week from Judge Damon Keith seems to set a new standard. The issue in the case was whether under the deferential AEDPA standard, the state court had unreasonably determined that there was sufficient evidence to uphold the verdict in a state burglary case. The majority concluded that under the doubly-deferential standard, the evidence was sufficient for the state court to have upheld the verdict. Judge Keith disagreed. Here's how he began his dissent: The majority's opinion flagrantly violates the Fourteenth Amendment. I therefore vehemently DISSENT. It is “[b]etter that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.” 4 William Blackstone, Commentaries at 358. This powerful and wise axiom reveals that a court commits the ultimate injustice by convicting and imprisoning a person based on insufficient evidence. Such a judicial transgression contravenes the most important right our Constitution affords the accused: “the Due Process Clause [of the Fourteenth Amendment] protects the accused against conviction except upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which he is charged.” In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970); U.S. Const. Amend. XIV, § 1. Apparently neither the state trial judge nor the majority ever read or understood the Constitution, for in the instant matter, they recklessly disregarded this fundamental requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt by convicting Defendant Raymond Tucker of home invasion without any evidence sufficient to prove his guilt. Wow. There's nasty, and then there's "accusing the other judges of never having read or understood the Constitution" nasty. In case you're wondering, the majority opinion was by Senior District Judge Harold Ackerman, a Carter appointee to the District of New Jersey, joined by Jeff Sutton, who as many readers know was a Bush 43 appointee to the Sixth Circuit. Thanks to Steven Wells for the link.