On March 7, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States granted a petition for a writ of certiorari in Contreras v. Davis, filed by SFH partner Jon Sheldon on behalf of Mr. Contreras. Contreras v. Davis, No. 15-5310, __ U.S. __, 2016 U.S. LEXIS 1853 (Mar. 7, 2016). Contreras was 15 years-old when convicted of murder and sentenced to 70-years in prison. In light of its recent opinion in Montgomery v. Louisiana, 577 U.S. ___ (2016), the Supreme Court found that lower courts erred in concluding that the prohibition on juvenile life without parole did not apply retroactively, vacating the judgment against Contreras and remanding the case to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
