No. 20-6922

Melvin Bonnell v. Ohio

Lower Court: Ohio
Docketed: 2021-01-25
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
IFP
Tags: brady-vs-maryland capital-punishment criminal-procedure due-process evidence prosecutorial-misconduct
Key Terms:
DueProcess Punishment
Latest Conference: 2021-03-26
Question Presented (from Petition)

When a capital ly sentenced defendant credibly demonstrates
that (1) state actors have cont inually exhibited bad faith
throughout the history of a case, and (2) the vast majority of
evidence (all of which could prove at least potentially
exculpatory) from a capital case is lost, missing, or de stroyed at
the hand of state actors, did the lower court err in failing to find
a violation pursuant to Arizona v. Youngblood , 488 U.S. 51
(1988) ?

Pursuant to this Court's decision in Arizona v. Youngblood , 488
U.S. 51 (1988) , what is the required standard that a defendant
must meet to prove that state actors acted in "bad faith ?"

Is a capital defendant deprived of meaningful review, and are
his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment ri ghts violated as
described in Anderson and Tumey , when the trial court adopts
verbatim the Prosecutor' s flawed proposed Findings of Fact and
Conclusions of Law to deny allegations of prosecutorial
misconduct ?

Question Presented (AI Summary)

When a capitally sentenced defendant credibly demonstrates that state actors have continually exhibited bad-faith and the majority of evidence is lost, missing, or destroyed, did the lower court err in failing to find a Youngblood violation?

Docket Entries

2021-03-29
Petition DENIED.
2021-03-11
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/26/2021.
2021-03-10
Reply of petitioner Melvin Bonnell filed. (Distributed)
2021-02-24
Brief of respondent State of Ohio in opposition filed.
2021-01-14
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due February 24, 2021)

Attorneys

Melvin Bonnell
Kimberly Sue RigbyOffice of the Ohio Public Defender, Petitioner
State of Ohio
Katherine Elizabeth MullinOffice of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor, Respondent