Confession of error: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
Cite to case; I gotta write an article on this some day |
Undid revision 1183853534 by 128.114.255.16 (talk); no consensus on wikipedia to use plural pronouns for singular |
||
| (17 intermediate revisions by 15 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|US legal practice regarding Federal decisions in the Supreme Court}} |
|||
'''Confession of error''' is a legal practice whereby the [[ |
'''Confession of error''' is a legal practice whereby the [[Solicitor General of the United States]] in his or her role representing the [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]] before the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] admits a lower court incorrectly decided a case and it is thereby sent back for reconsideration. By confessing error, the Solicitor General declares that the federal government's position, which prevailed in the lower court, was wrong. The Supreme Court typically then vacates the lower court's judgment and remands the case to allow the lower court to consider it in light of the confession of error.<ref>{{cite web |title=Solicitor General confessions of error |url=http://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/2010/03/solicitor-general-confessions-of-error.html |date=March 1, 2010 |accessdate=February 23, 2011 |publisher=PrawfsBlawg}} (Discussing GVRs (grant, vacate, remand) in the context of confessions of error).</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Confession of Error by the Solicitor General |jstor=1287833 |journal=Michigan Law Review |volume=74 |issue=5 |date=April 1976 |pages=1067–1083|doi=10.2307/1287833 |url=https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4135&context=mlr }}</ref> |
||
The practice was introduced in 1891 by [[William Howard Taft]] (who would later be U.S. president and then chief justice). At his urging, the Supreme Court overturned a murder conviction which had been obtained by inadmissible [[hearsay]] evidence in Texas.<ref>Rosen, Jeffrey (2018). ''William Howard Taft: The American Presidents Series''. New York: Time Books, Henry Holt & Co., p. 27</ref> |
|||
One example is that Solicitor General [[Drew Days, III]] argued in a petition for certiorari in ''[[Knox v. United States]]''<ref>''United States v. Knox'', 977 F.2d 815, 817 (3d Cir. 1992), ''cert. granted'', |
|||
113 S. Ct. 2926, ''vacated and remanded'', 114 S. Ct. 375 (1993), ''aff'd'', 32 F.3d 733 (3d |
|||
Cir. 1994), ''cert. denied'', 1994 WL 512613 (U.S. Jan. 17, 1995).</ref> that the |
A more modern example is that of Solicitor General [[Drew S. Days III]], who argued in a petition for [[certiorari]] in ''Knox v. United States''<ref>''United States v. Knox'', 977 F.2d 815, 817 (3d Cir. 1992), ''cert. granted'', 113 S. Ct. 2926, ''vacated and remanded'', 114 S. Ct. 375 (1993), ''aff'd'', 32 F.3d 733 (3d Cir. 1994), ''cert. denied'', 1994 WL 512613 (U.S. Jan. 17, 1995).</ref> that the circuit court's decision had been wrong, even though the circuit court had found in favor of the government. He urged the Supreme Court to vacate Knox's conviction for possession of child pornography; they remanded the case to circuit court.<ref name="Rosenzweig">{{cite journal | journal = [[The Georgetown Law Journal]] | volume = 82 | year = 1993–1994 | page = 2079 | title = Confession of Error in the Supreme Court by the Solicitor General | last1 = Rosenzweig | first1 = David M. | url = http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/glj82&div=65&id=&page= | accessdate = February 25, 2011 }}</ref> |
||
==References== |
==References== |
||
{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
||
| ⚫ | |||
{{US-law-stub}} |
{{US-law-stub}} |
||
| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:Supreme Court of the United States]] |
|||
[[Category:Legal procedure]] |
|||
Latest revision as of 19:17, 8 November 2023
Confession of error is a legal practice whereby the Solicitor General of the United States in his or her role representing the federal government before the Supreme Court of the United States admits a lower court incorrectly decided a case and it is thereby sent back for reconsideration. By confessing error, the Solicitor General declares that the federal government's position, which prevailed in the lower court, was wrong. The Supreme Court typically then vacates the lower court's judgment and remands the case to allow the lower court to consider it in light of the confession of error.[1][2]
The practice was introduced in 1891 by William Howard Taft (who would later be U.S. president and then chief justice). At his urging, the Supreme Court overturned a murder conviction which had been obtained by inadmissible hearsay evidence in Texas.[3]
A more modern example is that of Solicitor General Drew S. Days III, who argued in a petition for certiorari in Knox v. United States[4] that the circuit court's decision had been wrong, even though the circuit court had found in favor of the government. He urged the Supreme Court to vacate Knox's conviction for possession of child pornography; they remanded the case to circuit court.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "Solicitor General confessions of error". PrawfsBlawg. March 1, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2011. (Discussing GVRs (grant, vacate, remand) in the context of confessions of error).
- ^ "Confession of Error by the Solicitor General". Michigan Law Review. 74 (5): 1067–1083. April 1976. doi:10.2307/1287833. JSTOR 1287833.
- ^ Rosen, Jeffrey (2018). William Howard Taft: The American Presidents Series. New York: Time Books, Henry Holt & Co., p. 27
- ^ United States v. Knox, 977 F.2d 815, 817 (3d Cir. 1992), cert. granted, 113 S. Ct. 2926, vacated and remanded, 114 S. Ct. 375 (1993), aff'd, 32 F.3d 733 (3d Cir. 1994), cert. denied, 1994 WL 512613 (U.S. Jan. 17, 1995).
- ^ Rosenzweig, David M. (1993–1994). "Confession of Error in the Supreme Court by the Solicitor General". The Georgetown Law Journal. 82: 2079. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  | This article relating to law in the United States or its constituent jurisdictions is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |