SCOTUS reinstates Etan Patz murder conviction

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday reinstated the murder and kidnapping conviction of Pedro Hernandez, 64, in the 1979 disappearance and death of 6-year-old Etan Patz, ruling 6-3 that a federal appeals court exceeded its authority.

The unsigned decision in McCarthy v. Hernandez, No. 25-748, came from the justices' June 18 conference and granted New York prosecutors' petition to undo a ruling that had cleared the way for Hernandez's release or a third trial. The three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson — said they would have denied the state's petition.

What the court held

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had overturned Hernandez's conviction and ordered his release or a new trial, faulting the trial judge's answer to a jury note. The Supreme Court found the appeals court overstepped the limits of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, which restricts federal courts' power to grant relief to state prisoners.

"The Second Circuit exceeded its authority in holding that Hernandez is entitled to relief," the court wrote, according to CBS News and The Guardian.

The justices held that the 2004 ruling in Missouri v. Seibert, which addressed suppression of a confession repeated after a delayed Miranda warning, does not govern jury instructions or a jury's consideration of a confession already admitted at trial. "We have never applied Seibert in any other procedural context," the opinion said, per Courthouse News.

The court added that while the appeals panel "appears to reflect serious doubt about the reliability of Hernandez's confessions," the federal habeas law "does not allow a federal habeas court to disturb a state-court conviction based on such an evaluation of the evidence."

The case behind it

Etan Patz vanished on May 25, 1979, while walking to a school bus stop in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. His body was never found. He was among the first missing children featured on milk cartons, and his case led to the creation of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; the anniversary of his disappearance became National Missing Children's Day.

Hernandez, who worked at a nearby convenience store at the time, did not become a suspect until 2012. He confessed after about seven hours of police questioning before being read his Miranda rights, then repeated the confession on video after being advised of those rights, according to SCOTUSblog.

His first trial, in 2015, ended in a hung jury. He was convicted at a 2017 retrial and sentenced to 25 years to life. While deliberating, jurors asked whether they should disregard the later confessions if the earlier, un-Mirandized one was involuntary; the judge answered "the answer is no." The 2nd Circuit later called that response prejudicial error.

The ruling extends a series of recent decisions on federal courts' authority over state criminal cases. The justices in earlier rulings sided with a Mississippi death-row inmate on jury bias and blocked an Alabama nitrogen-gas execution.

Reactions

Hernandez will continue serving his sentence at the Elmira Correctional Facility in New York and will be eligible for parole in 2037. His lawyers said the confession was false, citing mental illness. "We firmly believe that an innocent man is in jail for a crime that he did not commit," they told the Associated Press.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg welcomed the decision. "This office has remained steadfast in its pursuit of justice for Etan and the Patz family," he said.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did the Supreme Court decide?

The court, by a 6-3 vote, reinstated Pedro Hernandez's murder and kidnapping conviction, holding that the 2nd Circuit exceeded its authority under federal habeas law when it ordered his release or a new trial.

Who was Etan Patz?

Etan Patz was a 6-year-old boy who disappeared on May 25, 1979, while walking to a school bus stop in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood. His body was never found, and his case helped spur the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

What happens to Pedro Hernandez now?

Hernandez, 64, will continue serving his sentence of 25 years to life at the Elmira Correctional Facility in New York. He will be eligible for parole in 2037.

Why did the appeals court overturn the conviction?

The 2nd Circuit faulted the trial judge's "no" answer to a jury note about whether the panel had to disregard Hernandez's later confessions if an earlier one was involuntary, calling the response a manifestly prejudicial error.

Sources

Reporting compiled from court records and the cited source outlets.