The Supreme Court’s Surprising Criminal Case Term

Overall, the criminal cases from this term illustrate that the justices are not uniformly polarized on criminal-related matters. While justices on the conservative side of the aisle tend to vote in favor of the government in criminal cases, there are many votes—and majority results—that demonstrate conservative justices’ interest in areas such as narrowing the reach of criminal statutes, limiting the impact of mandatory minimums, and at times strengthening constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment and related constitutional provisions.