June is always an excit­ing time at 1 First Street NE. The Jus­tices always like to take their time on very impor­tant cases, which means they often get announced at the very end of the term. This week is the last week before the Jus­tices leave for their three-​​​​month sum­mer vaca­tion, so it is time to announce all the big deci­sions that are still pend­ing. One of the cases announced today, Kennedy v. Louisiana, asked the court whether it was con­sti­tu­tional, under the 8th Amend­ment, to put a man to death for rap­ing a young child. Louisiana had a statute that pro­vided for death [ . . . ]

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