Ketanji Brown Jackson issues first SCOTUS dissent supporting death row inmate

Defense lawyers asserted that one of the key witnesses in the trial had a disability that could have affected his memory and impacted the accuracy of his testimony.

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, March 22, 2022 in Washington, DC.

By Ben Whedon

Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued her first opinion in the high court on Monday, dissenting from the majority in a case involving a death row inmate.

Davel Chinn, a death row inmate, asserted that Ohio authorities suppressed evidence in the case that may have led to a different verdict in his trial.

Jackson agreed with Chinn's lawyer, asserting that "because Chinn's life is on the line, and given the substantial likelihood that the suppressed record would have changed the outcome at trial based on the Ohio courts' own representations," per the Washington Examiner.

Defense lawyers asserted that one of the key witnesses in the trial had a disability that could have affected his memory and impacted the accuracy of his testimony.

Jackson was joined in her dissent only by Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor.