South Carolina v. Gathers
| South Carolina v. Gathers | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Argued March 28, 1989 Decided June 12, 1989 |
|
| Full case name | Demitrius Gathers v. Tennessee |
| Citations | 490 U.S. 805 (more) |
| 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 | |
|
|
| 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 (1991) | |
South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805 (1989), 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 501 U.S. 808 (1991).
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.
The impact 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,criminology and the lives of the parties involved.
...
Wikipedia