No. 18-5793

Ray Lamar Johnston v. Florida

Lower Court: Florida
Docketed: 2018-08-28
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Relisted (4)IFP
Tags: caldwell-v-mississippi capital-punishment capital-punishment-system death-penalty due-process equal-protection florida harmless-error hurst-relief hurst-v-florida jury-trial sixth-amendment
Latest Conference: 2019-01-04 (distributed 4 times)
Question Presented (from Petition)

1. Does the Florida Supreme Court's holding that a Hurst error is per se harmless where a jury issues a generalized unanimous recommendation for death – after receiving instructions that the judge would make both the findings of facts necessary for a death sentence and render the final decision on the death penalty —contravene the Eighth Amendment under Caldwell v. Mississippi , 472 U.S. 320 (1985) ?

2. Did the refusal of the Florida courts to consider the proffered scientific and sociological evidence to refute the notion of harmless Hurst error in this case result in violation s of due process under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution?

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether Florida's application of harmless error review to a unanimous jury recommendation of death violates the Sixth Amendment right to jury trial as established in Hurst v. Florida

Docket Entries

2019-01-07
Rehearing DENIED.
2018-12-12
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/4/2019.
2018-12-06
Petition for Rehearing filed.
2018-11-13
Petition DENIED. Justice Thomas, concurring in the denial of certiorari: I concur for the reasons set out in Reynolds v. Florida, 586 U. S. ___ (2018) (Thomas, J., concurring). Justice Sotomayor, dissenting from the denial of certiorari: I dissent for the reasons set out in Reynolds v. Florida, 586 U. S. ___ (2018) (Sotomayor, J., dissenting).
2018-11-05
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/9/2018.
2018-10-29
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/2/2018.
2018-10-22
Rescheduled.
2018-10-12
Reply of petitioner Ray Johnston filed. (Distributed)
2018-10-11
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/26/2018.
2018-09-27
Brief of respondent State of Florida in opposition filed.
2018-08-24
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due September 27, 2018)

Attorneys

Ray Johnston
David Dixon HendryCapital Collateral Regional Counsel- Middle Region "CCRC-M", Petitioner
State of Florida
Carolyn M. SnurkowskiOffifce of the Attorney General, Respondent