Townes v. Alabama

Statement of Justice SOTOMAYOR respecting the denial of certiorari.

Today the Court denies review of Tawuan Townes' capital murder conviction, the constitutionality of which hinges on whether the trial court instructed jurors that they "may" infer his intent to kill a victim or that they "must" do so. The former instruction is constitutional; the latter is not. There is no way to know for sure which instruction the trial court gave. Two court reporters certified two conflicting transcripts, and the trial court no longer has the original recording. Because Townes has not shown that the…