Recent legal developments: Criminal justice decisions of the U.S. supreme court, 2013 term

During its 2013 term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a total of 72 decisions-67 signed opinions and 5 summary reversals. Of these, only 17 (24%) dealt primarily with a criminal justice-related issue. The number of decisions involving criminal justice is the lowest in over two decades. Nonetheless, there were several significant cases involving criminal justice-related topics such as search and seizure, the death penalty, and habeas corpus, as well as the usual assortment of decisions dealing with important, if lower profile, issues such as sentencing and statutory interpretation.