4 - Commentary on Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe

Summary

The Supreme Court issued a plurality opinion holding that Ehrlich Anthony Coker’s sentence of death for the rape of an adult woman was “grossly disproportionate and excessive punishment” in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Unlike other cases from the era, which focused on the procedures for administering capital punishment, the Court found the death penalty excessive for the crime of rape regardless of the procedures used to reach that determination. Notably, an amicus brief authored by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, outlining the feminist case against applying the death penalty in cases of rape, did not serve as the basis for the plurality’s reasoning. Instead, the Court adopted rationales that many consider to be patriarchal and patronizing toward women.