No. 21-7358

Joseph Elliott v. George Little, Acting Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al.

Lower Court: Third Circuit
Docketed: 2022-03-14
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP
Tags: capital-case certificate-of-appealability confrontation-clause ineffective-assistance jury-selection out-of-court-statements right-to-counsel strickland-standard strickland-v-washington trial-preparation
Key Terms:
HabeasCorpus JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2022-04-22
Question Presented (from Petition)

1. Whether, in accordance with Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 327
(2003), Petitioner made a showing that reasonable jurists would debate
whether trial counsel was ineffective under Strickland v. Washington, 466
U.S. 668 (1984), where trial counsel met with Petitioner to discuss his
capital case for the first time for less than fifteen minutes on the first day
of jury selection?

2. Whether, in accordance with Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 327
(2003), Petitioner made a showing that reasonable jurists would debate —
in a "somewhat unsettled" area of law where the District Court remarked
that Petitioner had raised "compelling arguments" — whether Petitioner
established a Confrontation Clause violation under Williams v. Illinois,
567 U.S. 50 (2012), where the trial court admitted out-of-court statements
made by medical-examiner personnel after authorities had already
identified Petitioner as their primary suspect, and the error was not
harmless because Petitioner's conviction was otherwise based on "purely
circumstantial evidence"?

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether trial counsel was ineffective under Strickland v. Washington where counsel met with petitioner for less than 15 minutes before trial

Docket Entries

2022-04-25
Petition DENIED.
2022-04-07
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/22/2022.
2022-03-31
Waiver of right of respondent George Little, Secretary Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al. to respond filed.
2022-03-09
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due April 13, 2022)
2022-01-12
Application (21A319) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until March 9, 2022.
2022-01-10
Application (21A319) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from January 23, 2022 to March 9, 2022, submitted to Justice Alito.

Attorneys

George Little, Secretary Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al.
Nancy WinkelmanDistrict Attorney's Office, Respondent
Joseph Elliot
Stuart Brian LevFederal Community Defender's Office - EDPA, Petitioner