Summary
Unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn a Kansas court ruling, which held that the Constitution prohibited a prosecution expert from testifying in rebuttal to a cop killer's expert on a mental defense claim. In 2005, drug dealer Scott Cheever shot and killed a Kansas county sheriff who was serving an arrest warrant. Cheever shot at several other officers before he surrendreed. At trial, a pharmacist testified that Cheever was too high on drugs to have intended to kill the sheriff. Over Cheever's objection, the prosecution introduced an expert who testified that Cheever knew what he was doing on the day of the murder. The Kansas Supreme Court later overturned Cheever's conviction and death sentence, finding that, with the exception of a claim of mental illness, the Constitution did not allow a compelled examination by a prosecution expert to rebut defense experts on other mental defenses, such as intoxication. CJLF joined the state Attorney Generla's appeal to argue that the Kansas court's holding was not supported by the Constitution or any Supreme Court precedent.
