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162 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25A846 Marion Alexander Lindsey v. South Carolina South Carolina 2026-01-23 Application capital-sentencing due-process ineffective-assistance mitigating-evidence post-conviction-relief sixth-amendment Question not identified.
25-732 Amos Wells v. Eric Guerrero, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2025-12-19 Pending Amici (4) capital-sentencing constitutional-rights expert-testimony future-dangerousness habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance Whether trial counsel provides constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel at the sentencing phase of a capital trial by presenting evidence th…
25-5745 Victor Tony Jones v. Florida, et al. Florida 2025-09-27 Denied IFP capital-sentencing constitutional-rules due-process mitigating-evidence postconviction-litigation supremacy-clause 1. Has Florida violated the Supremacy Clause by constructing a system of postconviction litigation that provides no avenue for the assertion of retroa…
25-5633 Mica Alexander Martinez v. Christe Quick, Warden Tenth Circuit 2025-09-15 Denied IFP capital-sentencing due-process ineffective-assistance juror-unanimity prosecutorial-misconduct racial-bias Mica Martinez is a Native American steeped in Comanche culture. Mr. Martinez's defense counsel at trial warned the prosecution of putting on a "wild c…
25-5325 Robert W. Hassett, III v. Delaware Delaware 2025-08-12 Denied Relisted (2)IFP capital-sentencing constitutional-amendments criminal-procedure death-penalty due-process jury-instructions 1. Whether the Eighth^hdil '4th Amendments to the United States Constitution are violated, and this Court 's holdings are contradicted, 1 when a cour…
25-5219 Mao Hin v. California California 2025-07-29 Denied IFP capital-sentencing constitutional-rights death-penalty jury-unanimity reasonable-doubt sentencing-procedure Whether California's capital-sentencing scheme violates the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments because it fails to require the jury to fi…
25-5184 Matthew Lee Caylor v. Florida Florida 2025-07-24 Dismissed IFP aggravating-factors capital-sentencing constitutional-rights death-penalty due-process jury-waiver I. Whether accepting a defendant's waiver of the right to a trial by jury and the jury's full consideration of mitigating evidence in a death penalty …
25-5096 Christopher John Spreitz v. Arizona Arizona 2025-07-14 Denied Amici (1)Relisted (2)IFP capital-sentencing constitutional-review death-penalty habeas-corpus mitigating-evidence ninth-circuit 1. Whether in conducting independent sentencing review to cure a constitutional error in a capital case, a court must consider all of the evidence in …
24-7426 Stephen Lynn Buggs v. Texas Texas 2025-06-16 Denied IFP constitutional-claims federal-constitutional-rights fundamental-issues judicial-review subsequent-writs texas-court-of-criminal-appeals 1. Did the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals err in refusing to consider petitioner's claims where he alleged fundamental and federal constitutional i…
24-7145 Jeffery Day Rieber v. John Q. Hamm, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections Eleventh Circuit 2025-05-06 Denied IFP capital-sentencing ineffective-assistance intent intoxication jury-trial sixth-amendment 1. Did trial counsel render ineffective assistance of counsel at the guilt phase by failing to pursue a theory that Mr. Rieber lacked the requisite in…
24A744 Leonard Harris v. Nakita Ross, et al. Fourth Circuit 2025-01-29 Denied capital-sentencing criminal-procedure exculpatory-evidence ineffective-assistance right-to-counsel sixth-amendment Due Process Violations from the Use of Expunged Records: This case raises fundamental questions about whether the use of expunged records in judicial …
24-6376 Marion Bowman, Jr. v. Bryan P. Stirling, Director, South Carolina Department of Corrections, et al. South Carolina 2025-01-23 Denied IFP capital-sentencing constitutional-rights criminal-trial due-process ineffective-assistance racial-bias Marion Bowman's capital trial counsel predicated his defense upon, and repeatedly injected, odious racial stereotypes about Bowman, a black man, and h…
24-6212 Raymond Anthony Lewis v. Raul Morales, Acting Warden Ninth Circuit 2024-12-30 Denied IFP capital-sentencing death-penalty extraneous-evidence habeas-corpus jury-misconduct religious-bias 1) In a death penalty case, does post-trial evidence showing that the jury foreperson told the panel on the fourth day of sentencing deliberations tha…
24-6172 Tyrone T. Johnson v. Florida Florida 2024-12-18 Denied IFP arbitrary-capricious capital-sentencing death-penalty eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment proportionality-review Has the Florida Supreme Court by abandoning comparative proportionality review in death penalty appeals - - while dismantling other safeguards, and in…
24-5916 Javance Mickey Wilson v. California California 2024-11-05 Denied IFP capital-sentencing constitutional-amendments criminal-procedure death-penalty jury-findings reasonable-doubt Does California's capital-sentencing scheme violate the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments because it fails to require that the jury make the fac…
24A329 Robert Wharton v. Joseph Terra, Superintendent, State Correctional Institution at Phoenix Third Circuit 2024-10-04 Presumed Complete capital-sentencing counsel-performance ineffective-assistance mitigating-evidence prison-behavior sixth-amendment Question not identified.
24A298 James Herard v. Florida Florida 2024-09-27 Presumed Complete capital-sentencing constitutional-rights death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment jury-unanimity Question not identified.
24A242 Paul David Storey v. Texas Texas 2024-09-06 Presumed Complete capital-sentencing constitutional-claims death-penalty habeas-corpus prosecutorial-misconduct victim-impact Question not identified.
23A1151 Devin Allen Bennett v. Mississippi Mississippi 2024-06-25 Presumed Complete capital-sentencing double-edged-sword ineffective-assistance mitigation-evidence sixth-amendment strickland-standard Whether trial counsel's lack of mitigation investigation is excused by a court-manufactured theoretical strategy to argue residual doubt; and whether …
23-7024 Thomas Bevel v. Florida Florida 2024-03-19 Denied IFP aggravating-factors arbitrary-sentencing capital-sentencing death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment proportionality-review reasonable-doubt L. Whether Florida's capital sentencing scheme violates the Eighth Amendment because the controlling statute does not meaningfully limit the class of …
23-7029 Byron James Shepard v. Oklahoma Oklahoma 2024-03-19 Denied IFP aggravating-circumstance aggravating-factors capital-punishment capital-sentencing criminal-procedure death-penalty eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment jury-discretion Does Oklahoma's continuing threat aggravating circumstance violate this Court's capital sentencing jurisprudence and the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendme…
23-1004 Moises Sandoval Mendoza v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2024-03-13 Denied capital-punishment capital-sentencing due-process federal-court fifth-circuit habeas habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance merits-adjudication section-2254 state-court 1. Whether a federal claim is "adjudicated on the merits" in state court under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) so long as the state court resolves the claim on su…
23-6888 Darrell Wayne Frederick v. Christe Quick, Warden Tenth Circuit 2024-03-04 Denied IFP aspd brain-damage capital-punishment capital-sentencing ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence prejudice prejudice-review strickland-standard strickland-v-washington The jury that sentenced Mr. Frederick to death did not hear from a single live defense witness during the penalty phase of his capital trial. Despite …
23A772 Jorge Galindo v. Nebraska Nebraska 2024-02-23 Presumed Complete capital-sentencing death-penalty eddings-standard eighth-amendment mitigating-circumstances youthful-offender Question not identified.
23-6276 Danny Hill v. Tim Shoop, Warden Sixth Circuit 2023-12-15 Denied Relisted (2)IFP aedpa bitemark-evidence constitutional-challenge federal-constitutional-rights forensic-science habeas-corpus judicial-resources newly-ripened-claims second-or-successive second-or-successive-petition Is a habeas petition "second or successive" when the factual predicate giving rise to the petitioner's claim occurs long after the petitioner filed hi…
23-6078 Timothy Ray Jones, Jr. v. South Carolina South Carolina 2023-11-21 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing due-process eighth-amendment insanity-defense jury jury-instructions not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity voir-dire 1. Whether the Due Process Clause and the Eighth Amendment require that a jury, as the sentencer in a capital case, be told the truth about the effect…
23-5996 Lyndon Fitzgerald Pace v. Shawn Emmons, Warden Eleventh Circuit 2023-11-13 Denied Relisted (9)IFP aedpa capital-sentencing constitutional-error death-penalty due-process ineffective-assistance jury-argument jury-instructions prosecutorial-misconduct right-to-silence Lyndon Pace was convicted of four counts of malice murder in an Atlanta, Georgia trial. Thereafter, the prosecutor asked jurors to sentence him to dea…
23-5660 Taberon Dave Honie v. Robert Powell, Warden Tenth Circuit 2023-09-27 Denied Amici (1)Relisted (2)IFP capital-sentencing constitutional-rights federal-habeas habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance jury-waiver prejudice-standard state-statutory-right waiver After misadvisin g Petitioner Taberon Honie to waive his right to capital sentencing by a jury, Mr. Honie's counsel later erroneously told him that it…
23-5565 William E. Wells, III v. Florida Florida 2023-09-13 Denied IFP aggravating-factors apprendi-v-new-jersey capital-sentencing death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment mental-illness proportionality-review L. Whether Florida's capital sentencing scheme violates the Eighth Amendment because the controlling statute does not meaningfully limit the class of …
23A178 Andrew P. Witt v. United States Armed Forces 2023-08-25 Presumed Complete capital-sentencing court-martial death-penalty ineffective-assistance-of-counsel prosecutorial-misconduct uniform-code-of-military-justice Question not identified.
23-5375 Isidro Miguel Delacruz v. Texas Texas 2023-08-17 Denied IFP 8th-amendment capital-sentencing constitutional-proportionality death-penalty due-process jury-instructions mitigation-evidence moral-culpability Can the Texas death penalty statute, which instructs the jury to consider "the circumstances of the offense, the defendant's character and background,…
23-5299 Keith Mas Sims, Jr. v. David W. Gray, Warden Sixth Circuit 2023-08-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP exhaustion-of-state-remedies fair-presentation federal-constitutional-rights habeas-corpus procedural-default speedy-trial To be eligible for federal habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, a state prisoner must have exhausted the remedies available to him in state court. Id…
23-5277 Sergio Ochoa v. Oak Smith, Acting Warden Ninth Circuit 2023-08-03 Denied IFP background-investigation capital-punishment capital-sentencing ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigating-evidence neuropsychological-deficits post-traumatic-stress post-traumatic-stress-disorder strickland-v-washington williams-v-taylor In Ochoa v. Davis, the Ninth Circuit endorsed trial counsel's presentation of a "family sympathy" defense at the penalty phase of Sergio Ochoa's capit…
23A29 Taberon Dave Honie v. Robert Powell, Warden Tenth Circuit 2023-07-12 Presumed Complete capital-sentencing circuit-split habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel jury-waiver strickland-prejudice Question not identified.
23-5039 Thomas E. Creech v. Tim Richardson, Warden Ninth Circuit 2023-07-05 Denied Amici (1)IFP capital-sentencing death-row eighth-amendment habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel psychopathy sixth-amendment 1. Whether, for purposes of measuring claims arising from capital sentencings, evidence of or reference to psychopathy should be treated as potential…
22-7184 Darrell Kelly Middlekauff v. Sue Washburn, Superintendent, Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution Oregon 2023-04-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP capital-sentencing death-penalty fourteenth-amendment ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel jury-trial jury-trial-waiver post-conviction-relief sixth-amendment 1. In a post-conviction relief case based on an aggravated murder conviction in which the defendant faced the death penalty, is trial counsel ineffect…
22-7135 Victoria Michelle Drain v. Ohio Ohio 2023-03-29 Denied IFP 8th-amendment capital-punishment capital-sentencing defense-counsel eddings-v-oklahoma eighth-amendment mitigating-evidence ohio-supreme-court sentencing-review strategic-choice Counsel and capital defendant s frequently clash over whether and what mitigating evidence to present in support of a sentence less than deat h. In Oh…
22-6895 Heather Leavell-Keaton v. Alabama Alabama 2023-03-01 Denied Amici (1)Relisted (4)IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing constitutional-rights death-penalty due-process evidence prison-behavior sentencing skipper-precedent skipper-v-south-carolina When a capital defendant's death sentence is vacated and the case is remanded for a new sentencing at which the death penalty is an available sentence…
22-6772 Marion Bowman, Jr. v. Bryan P. Stirling, Commissioner, South Carolina Department of Corrections, et al. Fourth Circuit 2023-02-14 Denied IFP alternative-perpetrator brady-materiality brady-v-maryland capital-sentencing exculpatory-evidence giglio-v-united-states habeas-corpus kyles-v-whitley materiality prosecutorial-misconduct witness-credibility Marion Bowman's convictions and death sentence rest on the compromised testimony of three witnesses who identified Bowman as the murderer. Two—James T…
22-6725 Michael A. Gordon v. Florida Florida 2023-02-08 Denied IFP capital-sentencing death-penalty eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment proportionality-review pulley-v-harris Has the Florida Supreme Court by abandoning comparative proportionality review in death penalty appeals - - while dismantling other safeguards, and in…
22-6488 John F. Mosley v. Florida Florida 2023-01-09 Denied IFP aggravating-factors apprendi-v-new-jersey capital-sentencing constitutional-rights due-process mitigating-circumstances mitigating-evidence reasonable-doubt ring-v-arizona IL The first question presented is whether excluding evidence of a history of sexual abuse in Mr. Mosley's family of origin was contrary to this Court…
22-6091 Brian J. Dorsey v. David Vandergriff, Warden Eighth Circuit 2022-11-17 Denied IFP capital-sentencing certificate-of-appealability evidentiary-hearing habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel law-of-the-case martinez-v-ryan procedural-default sixth-amendment More than four decades ago, this Court held that it is crucial that the jury be allowed to hear evidence of a defendant's positive adjustment to priso…
22-6049 Kenneth Eugene Smith v. Alabama Alabama 2022-11-14 Denied IFP capital-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment death-penalty eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment jury-determination jury-override state-federal-practice Does executing a condemned person contrary to a capital sentencing jury's determination that he should be sentenced to life imprisonment without the p…
22-5891 Kevin B. Burns v. Tony Mays, Warden Sixth Circuit 2022-10-24 Denied Amici (1)Relisted (7)IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing felony-murder ineffective-assistance moral-culpability residual-doubt sentencing state-law strickland-v-washington 1. Whether an ineffective assistance claim may be based on counsel's failure to exercise a state-law right to introduce residual doubt evidence at a c…
22-5675 Larry Gapen v. Ohio Ohio 2022-09-23 Denied IFP capital-case constitutional-violations due-process extrinsic-evidence federal-constitutional-rights federal-habeas-corpus habeas-corpus juror-misconduct lex-talionis state-procedural-rules When state courts prevent a capital defendant from obtaining the formal process necessary to substantiate severe constitutional violations in his tria…
22-5519 Kareem J. Stansbury v. Michael Courley, Acting Superintendent, State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill, et al. Third Circuit 2022-09-07 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP certificate-of-appealability criminal-justice-system fair-trial federal-constitutional-rights habeas-corpus pro-se-defendant procedural-default sixth-amendment speedy-trial conviction and habeas corpus proceedings raises Kareem Stansbury's pressing issues of national importance; Whether, and to what extent the criminal ju…
22-5513 Jerome Jenkins, Jr. v. South Carolina South Carolina 2022-09-06 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing due-process hearsay-rules hurst-v-florida judicial-bias jury-sentencing jury-waiver mitigating-evidence plea-bargaining state-statute Could a South Carolina trial judge who had told Petitioner he would sentence him to death if he pled guilty still rule, consistent with Hurst v. Flori…
22-5464 Barney Adrian Dunlap v. David Mitchell, Superintendent, Lanesboro Correctional Institution Fourth Circuit 2022-08-29 Denied IFP constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process federal-constitutional-rights ineffective-assistance jury-instructions lesser-included-offenses state-constitutional-rights 1) Has the trial court erred by refusing to instruct the Jury on lesser Included offenses supported by the evidence in violation of Dunlap's State and…
22-5109 Teddy Brian Sanchez v. Ronald Broomfield, Warden Ninth Circuit 2022-07-15 Denied IFP attorney-error brain-dysfunction capital-sentencing capital-trial circuit-split cumulative-error ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel ninth-circuit penalty-phase prejudice-standard 1. Did the Ninth Circuit err when it found that Petitioner's "organic" brain dysfunction was not enough of a red flag to trigger a duty for trial coun…
21-8187 Jesse Bell v. Florida Florida 2022-06-21 Denied IFP aggravating-factors alleyne-v-united-states apprendi-v-new-jersey capital-sentencing constitutional-standard due-process mitigating-circumstances reasonable-doubt ring-v-arizona standard-of-proof Under Florida's capital sentencing scheme, in addition to finding at least one aggravating factor exists, the factfinder must make additional determin…
21-7542 Carman Deck v. Paul Blair, Warden Missouri 2022-04-05 Denied IFP capital-sentencing constitutional-rights delay-in-sentencing due-process fair-trial fundamental-fairness mitigation-evidence right-to-present-evidence sentencing-delay Betterman v. Montana, 578 U.S. 437, 448 (2016), noted there is a due process limitation upon inordinate delays between conviction and sentencing. What…
21-7082 William Speer v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2022-02-09 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing double-edged-evidence eighth-amendment habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigating-evidence sixth-amendment strickland-standard strickland-v-washington In federal habeas proceedings, Petitioner William Speer presented a claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel for failure to investigate and pr…
21-7061 John Lezell Balentine v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2022-02-04 Denied IFP capital-defendant capital-sentencing circuit-split due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence schriro-v-landrigan sentencing trial-counsel Under Schriro v. Landrigan, 550 U.S. 465 (2007), does a capital defendant necessarily forfeit his right to allege trial counsel's ineffectiveness for …
21-1044 Bryan P. Stirling, Director, South Carolina Department of Corrections, et al. v. James Nathaniel Bryant, III Fourth Circuit 2022-01-26 Denied capital-punishment capital-sentencing due-process fact-finding federal-review habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance state-court-deference In review of a claim fully adjudicated in state court, did the district court violate 28 U.S.C. § 2254's deference mandate and offend the principles o…
21-6822 James Edward Barber v. John Q. Hamm, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections Eleventh Circuit 2022-01-12 Denied IFP aggravating-evidence capital-sentencing ineffective-assistance-of-counsel jury-instructions mental-health-evidence mitigation-evidence prejudice prejudice-standard split-verdict This case concerns the prejudice resulting from ineffective assistance of counsel during the penalty phase of a capital case. For petitioner James Bar…
21-6654 Donald H. Davidson, Jr. v. Florida Florida 2021-12-17 Denied IFP aggravating-factors alleyne-v-united-states apprendi-v-new-jersey capital-punishment capital-sentencing due-process hurst-v-florida mitigating-circumstances reasonable-doubt ring-v-arizona sentencing-determination Under the Due Process Clause, the determination of the existence of an element of a crime must be made beyond a reasonable doubt. See Apprendi v. New …
21-6651 Laqunn Gary v. Mississippi Mississippi 2021-12-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP due-process fair-trial federal-constitutional-rights federal-issues federal-treaties ineffective-assistance post-conviction-relief state-procedural-bar state-procedural-bars WHETHER MISS. CODE ANN. 99-39-21 WAS UNREASONABLY USED THE BAR TO PETITIONER'S FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES OF SEVERE IMPORTANCE THAT WHICH REVOLVES AROUND FEDE…
21-6429 Randall T. Deviney v. Florida Florida 2021-11-24 Denied IFP aggravating-factors alleyne-v-united-states apprendi-v-new-jersey capital-sentencing criminal-procedure due-process eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment functional-elements hurst-v-florida ring-v-arizona I. The Due Process Clause requires the existence of an element of a crime to be determined beyond a reasonable doubt. See Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 …
21-6387 Richard Barry Randolph v. Florida Florida 2021-11-23 Denied IFP apprendi-v-new-jersey capital-sentencing constitutional-interpretation criminal-procedure death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment retroactive-law statutory-construction 1. Whether the Florida Supreme Court's decision in Hurst v. State constitutes statutory construction of substantive law, and if so, whether the Due Pr…
21-6328 Scottie D. Allen v. Florida Florida 2021-11-18 Denied IFP capital-sentencing criminal-procedure due-process eighth-amendment jury-instructions reasonable-doubt sentencing standard-of-proof I. Whether the Florida Supreme Court's rejection of Petitioner's claim of error based on the jury being affirmatively misinformed about its role in th…
21-579 Kenneth Eugene Smith v. John Q. Hamm, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2021-10-20 Denied accomplice-liability burden-of-proof capital-sentencing constitutional-rights due-process eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment jury-instructions jury-trial sixth-amendment specific-intent 1. Under Waddington v. Sar ausad, 555 U.S. 179 (2009), when a conviction requires that the State prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant ha…
21-5753 James Allyson Lee v. Benjamin Ford, Warden Eleventh Circuit 2021-09-22 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing childhood-trauma habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence post-conviction-relief ptsd ptsd-evidence strickland-standard strickland-v-washington 1. Where a capital sentencing jury hears only a brief, conclusory, second-hand allusion to childhood abuse and neglect, can detailed, graphic accounts…
21-5672 Wayne C. Doty v. Florida Florida 2021-09-14 Denied IFP aggravating-factors alleyne-v-united-states apprendi-v-new-jersey capital-sentencing due-process jury-trial mitigating-circumstances reasonable-doubt ring-v-arizona Under the Due Process Clause and pursuant to the right to a trial by jury, the determination of the existence of an element of a crime must be made be…
21-5280 Robert Craft v. Florida Florida 2021-08-03 Denied IFP aggravating-factors alleyne-v-united-states apprendi-v-new-jersey capital-sentencing constitutional-law criminal-procedure due-process hurst-v-florida reasonable-doubt ring-v-arizona Under the Due Process Clause, the determination of the existence of an element of a crime must be made beyond a reasonable doubt. See Apprendi v. New …
21-5232 Duane Allen Short v. Ohio Ohio 2021-07-29 Denied IFP caldwell-v-mississippi capital-punishment capital-sentencing constitutional-decency due-process eighth-amendment evolving-standards-of-decency jury-recommendation jury-trial sixth-amendment Is Ohio's capital sentencing scheme, which permits telling the jury that their decision is only a mere recommendation, unconstitutional under Hurst v.…
21-5048 Wesley Lynn Ruiz v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2021-07-08 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing certificate-of-appealability due-process eighth-amendment expert-testimony expert-witness false-testimony prosecutorial-misconduct Under the Due Process clause, and the Eighth Amendment, should the prosecution be held responsible for the presentation of false expert testimony on a…
20-8408 Scott R. Deichsel v. Lizzie Tegels, Warden Seventh Circuit 2021-06-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-counsel certificate-of-appealability denial-of-constitutional-rights due-process federal-constitutional-right federal-constitutional-rights ineffective-assistance-of-counsel plea-colloquy state-law 1. This Court should grant review to determine whether and in what circumstances such a Certificate of Appealabilty issued can be vacated. 2. This Co…
20-8341 Jonathan Huey Lawrence v. Florida Florida 2021-06-17 Denied IFP capital-sentencing due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection fourteenth-amendment proffitt-v-florida proportionality-review pulley-v-harris In the decision below, the Florida Supreme Court held that maintaining conformity with this Court's Eighth Amendment jurisprudence required eliminatin…
20-8101 Joseph Weldon Smith v. Perry Russell, Warden, et al. Ninth Circuit 2021-05-21 Denied IFP brecht-standard brecht-v-abrahamson capital-sentencing harmless-error jury-instruction jury-instructions jury-trial sixth-amendment stromberg-error stromberg-v-california In applying harmless error review under Brecht, may a federal court disregard the prejudice resulting from Stromberg error, i.e., the jury's considera…
20-1613 John Wayne Collins v. James David Green, Warden Sixth Circuit 2021-05-19 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) aedpa aedpa-deference clearly-established-law criminal-joinder federal-constitutional-claim federal-constitutional-rights habeas-corpus standard-of-review state-court-proceedings state-supreme-court unreasonable-application 1. Whether de novo review instead of deferential review under AEDPA applies where a state supreme court's analysis was not conducted deliberately as a…
20-8075 Damantae Graham v. Ohio Ohio 2021-05-19 Denied IFP appellate-review capital-punishment capital-sentencing constitutional-error constitutional-law criminal-procedure harmless-error trial-procedure victim-impact victim-impact-testimony This Court ruled that, before a federal constitutional error can be deemed harmless, the prosecution must establish by proof beyond a reasonable doubt…
20-7988 Robert Allen Poyson v. Arizona Arizona 2021-05-11 Denied IFP aggravating-factors capital-sentencing causal-nexus constitutional-review death-penalty eighth-amendment individualized-sentencing mitigation-evidence non-statutory-mitigation 1. Is the individualized capital sentencing requirement guaranteed by the Eighth Amendment violated when a State—whether by statute or court- imposed …
20-7895 David Scott Franks v. Benjamin Ford, Warden Eleventh Circuit 2021-04-30 Denied IFP capital-case capital-sentencing eleventh-circuit ineffective-assistance mitigating-evidence residual-doubt sentencing wiggins-standard wiggins-v-smith Question One In Mr. Franks's case, the district court found that "the evidence …was so overwhelming that no competent lawyer could be expected to hav…
20-7804 Michael William Ledford v. Warden, Georgia Diagnostic Prison Eleventh Circuit 2021-04-20 Denied IFP batson-challenge batson-v-kentucky capital-sentencing civil-rights due-process gender-discrimination ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel j.e.b-v-alabama jury-selection psychopathy-evidence 1. Whether this Court meant it when it wrote that "a pattern of strikes against black [or here, women] jurors included in this particular venire might…
20-7732 Tina LaSonya Brown v. Florida Florida 2021-04-13 Denied IFP aggravating-factors appellate-review capital-sentencing constitutional-procedure death-penalty due-process ex-post-facto jury-finding jury-findings sixth-amendment ONE: Petitioner Tina Brown sought state postconviction relief from a 2012 death sentence imposed under the procedure subsequently held unconstitutiona…
20-7724 John K. Wilson v. Rosemary Ndoh, Warden Ninth Circuit 2021-04-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-standard de-novo-review due-process evidentiary-hearing federal-constitutional-rights fourteenth-amendment guilty-plea no-contest-plea plea-bargaining standard-of-review state-court-proceedings Is a state court's ruling that a criminal defendant's guilty plea was "voluntary" a constitutional question under the Fourteenth Amendment, subject to…
20-7592 Alan Eugene Miller v. Jefferson S. Dunn, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections Eleventh Circuit 2021-03-29 Denied IFP aggravating-factor aggravating-factors caldwell-v-mississippi capital-sentencing death-penalty eighth-amendment jury-instructions jury-verdict sixth-amendment After petitioner Alan Miller was convicted of murder, the trial judge instructed the jurors that their penalty-phase verdict was merely an advisory re…
20-6891 Ronald Knight v. Florida Department of Corrections, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2021-01-14 Denied IFP capital-defense capital-sentencing ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-health mental-health-evidence mitigation-investigation postconviction-relief prejudice strickland-standard strickland-v-washington 1. Whether trial counsel has an obligation to conduct a comprehensive mitigation investigation when clear red flags suggest compelling mitigation, inc…
20-6709 Lance Hundley v. Ohio Ohio 2020-12-28 Denied IFP capital-defendant capital-sentencing constitutional-review death-penalty due-process fourteenth-amendment jury-determination mental-health self-representation sixth-amendment 1.Do the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution forbid a trial court from allowing a capital defendant with a questionable mental he…
20-6644 David Santiago Renteria v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2020-12-16 Denied IFP capital-sentencing certificate-of-appealability due-process eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment habeas-corpus investigative-funds sentencing 1. Did the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit deny petitioner a full appeal of the district court's denial of funding under 18 U.S.C. § 3599(f), a…
20-6533 Grover B. Reed v. Florida Florida 2020-12-04 Denied IFP capital-sentencing due-process eighth-amendment florida-supreme-court fourteenth-amendment hurst-v-state retroactive-law retroactivity statutory-construction 1. Whether the Florida Supreme Court's statutory construction in Hurst v. State constitutes substantive law, and if so, whether under the Due Process …
20-6515 Anthony Ponticelli v. Florida Florida 2020-12-03 Denied IFP capital-sentencing due-process eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment hurst-v-state jury-unanimity retroactivity statutory-construction substantive-law 1.Whether the Florida Supreme Court's statutory construction in Hurst v. State constitutes substantive law, and if so, whether the Due Process Clause …
20-6498 Tony Barksdale v. Jefferson Dunn, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections Eleventh Circuit 2020-12-02 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing certificate-of-appealability due-process effective-assistance-of-counsel eighth-amendment eleventh-circuit habeas-corpus sixth-amendment supreme-court-precedent 1. Did the Eleventh Circuit misconstrue this Court's guidance in, inter alia, Buck v. Davis, 580 U.S. ___, 137 S. Ct. 759 (2017), when it denied Petit…
20-701 James Calvert v. Texas Texas 2020-11-20 Denied Relisted (6) capital-punishment capital-sentencing due-process eighth-amendment mental-competency right-to-counsel structural-error 1. Whether the Constitution prevents a State from allowing a defendant to represent himself in a capital case when the defendant is mentally competent…
20-6166 Brad Keith Sigmon v. Bryan Stirling, Commissioner, South Carolina Department of Corrections, et al. Fourth Circuit 2020-10-29 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing cumulative-evidence evidentiary-hearing ineffective-assistance-of-counsel martinez-claim martinez-v-ryan mitigation-evidence sixth-amendment 1. Capital defendant Brad Sigmon presented additional mitigation evidence uncovered during a Martinez investigation that addressed the same general su…
20-6060 Benjamin Davis Smiley, Jr. v. Florida Florida 2020-10-19 Denied IFP aggravating-factors capital-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment equal-protection fourteenth-amendment jury-determination mitigating-circumstances sentencing 1. Does the decision of the Florida Supreme Court in Smiley v. State , 295 So.3d 156 (2020), violate the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual pun…
20-250 Mark Anthony Poole v. Florida Florida 2020-09-01 Denied aggravating-circumstances capital-sentencing death-penalty eighth-amendment hurst-precedent hurst-v-florida jury-recommendation mitigating-circumstances sixth-amendment I. Whether the Florida Supreme Court erred in reinstating a capital sentence issued under Florida's pre-2016 scheme, in contravention of this Court's …
20-5517 Scotty Ray Gardner v. Arkansas Arkansas 2020-08-27 Denied IFP access-to-courts aggravating-circumstance aggravating-circumstances appellate-review capital-punishment capital-sentencing death-penalty due-process jury-instructions I. In a state in which the death penalty is authorized only upon a finding of an enumerated aggravating circumstance, does due process require that ev…
20-5263 Patrick W. Schroeder v. Nebraska Nebraska 2020-08-05 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing death-penalty eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment mitigation mitigation-evidence pro-se pro-se-representation proportionality sentencing 1) Whether the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution are violated when a capital sentencing panel issues a death sentence…
20-5109 Ganaa Otgoo v. Illinois Illinois 2020-07-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP conflict-between-state-court-decisions constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process fair-trial federal-constitutional-rights legal-review reasonable-doubt state-court state-court-actions wrongful-conviction 1) Grant Certiorari to decide legal questions whether State Court actions denied Petitioner's Rights under Federal Law, denied Petitioner "Fair and Im…
20-5072 Rodney Renard Newberry v. Florida Florida 2020-07-15 Denied IFP apprendi capital-sentencing due-process elements reasonable-doubt ring-v-arizona Under the Due Process Clause, determinations as to both elements and their "functional equivalents" must be made beyond a reasonable doubt. See, e.g.,…
19-8814 Nicholas Alexander Davis v. Tommy Sharp, Interim Warden Tenth Circuit 2020-06-25 Denied IFP capital-sentencing due-process federal-habeas lockett-v-ohio mitigating-evidence payne-v-tennessee Under the auspices of Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808 (1991), victim Marcus Smith's life mattered more to the State of Oklahoma in capital sentencing…
19-8660 Thomas Michael Riley v. Arizona Arizona 2020-06-10 Denied IFP aggravating-factors capital-punishment capital-sentencing constitutional-review death-penalty furman-v-georgia gregg-v-georgia narrowing-requirement sentencing-scheme "To pass constitutional muster, a capital sentencing scheme must genuinely narrow the class of persons eligible for the death penalty and must reasona…
19-8614 Edward Leon Fields, Jr. v. United States Tenth Circuit 2020-06-05 Denied IFP caldwell-v-mississippi capital-sentencing constitutional-review donnelly-v-dechristoforo due-process eighth-amendment jury-responsibility prosecutorial-misconduct In Donnelly v. DeChristoforo, 416 U.S. 637 (1974), this Court identified two distinct standards of review applicable to claims of prosecutorial miscon…
19-8473 Shawn Rogers v. Florida Florida 2020-05-15 Denied IFP aggravating-factors apprendi capital-sentencing due-process mitigating-circumstances ring-v-arizona Under the Due Process Clause, determinations as to both elements and their "functional equivalents" must be made beyond a reasonable doubt. See, e.g.,…
19-8438 Rodney Lyn Emil v. Nevada Nevada 2020-05-12 Denied IFP aggravating-factors burden-of-proof capital-sentencing constitutional-procedure death-penalty jury-finding jury-instructions mitigating-circumstances reasonable-doubt Nevada courts instruct juries that they may consider imposing a death sentence only after finding at least one statutory aggravating factor beyond a r…
19-8335 Mitchell Willoughby v. Deedra Hart, Warden Sixth Circuit 2020-04-22 Denied IFP caldwell-precedent capital-sentencing closing-argument death-penalty jury jury-instructions prosecutor prosecutorial-misconduct sixth-circuit state-law voir-dire "The uncorrected suggestion that the responsibility for any ultimate determination of death will rest with others presents an intolerable danger that …
19-8272 Nicholas Cody Tate v. Benjamin Ford, Warden Georgia 2020-04-16 Denied IFP aedpa aedpa-review capital-sentencing habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence schriro-v-landrigan strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Whether the Georgia Supreme Court's opinion reversing the state habeas corpus court's reasoned grant of relief based on capital sentencing counsel's p…
19-8105 Justin Anderson v. Dexter Payne, Director, Arkansas Division of Correction Eighth Circuit 2020-03-26 Denied Amici (1)IFP brain-damage capital-sentencing federal-habeas fetal-alcohol-spectrum fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder ineffective-assistance mitigating-evidence postconviction-proceedings strickland-prejudice strickland-standard Trial counsel for the defendant in this capital case learned from four witnesses that the defendant's mother had a drinking problem, including one wit…
19-8103 Ramiro Rubi Ibarra v. Lorie Davis, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2020-03-26 Denied IFP capital-sentencing double-edged-evidence federal-judicial-review fifth-circuit habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-counsel judicial-review sixth-amendment texas-law 1. Whether the Fifth Circuit failed to ensure meaningful federal judicial review of a substantial Sixth Amendment claim. 2. Whether the Fifth Circuit…
19-7696 In Re Nicholas Todd Sutton 2020-02-18 Denied IFP 14th-amendment 5th-amendment capital-sentencing constitutional-rights criminal-procedure criminal-trial death-penalty due-process fifth-amendment fourteenth-amendment habeas-corpus physical-restraints visible-jury In Deck v. Missouri, 544 U.S. 622, 629 (2005), this Court held that "the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit the use of physical restraints visib…
19-7647 William P. Castillo v. Nevada Nevada 2020-02-12 Denied Amici (1)IFP aggravating-factors appellate-review apprendi apprendi-line capital-punishment capital-sentencing clemons-v-mississippi death-penalty jury-instructions mitigating-circumstances mitigating-evidence mitigation-evidence reweighing Nevada courts instruct juries that they may consider imposing a death sentence only after finding at least one statutory aggravating factor beyond a r…
19-967 Craig M. Wood v. Missouri Missouri 2020-02-03 Denied Relisted (2) capital-punishment capital-sentencing constitutional-rights death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment jury-determination jury-trial sentencing sixth-amendment Whether the Constitution requires that a jury, rather than a judge, weigh the aggravating and mitigating circumstances to determine whether a defendan…
19-7063 Leeton Jahwanza Thomas v. Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 2019-12-26 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing death-penalty eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment jury-trial reasonable-doubt sixth-amendment Were Petitioner's rights under the Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution violated by a Pennsylvania statutory sch…
19-6918 Michael Wade Nance v. Benjamin Ford, Warden Eleventh Circuit 2019-12-12 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing circuit-split constitutional-rights habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-strategy record-evidence strickland-v-washington stun-belt trial-counsel 1. The state habeas testimony of Michael Nance's trial counsel established that they inexplicably omitted highly mitigating evidence from Mr. Nance's …
19-6531 Demetrius Frazier v. Jefferson S. Dunn, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections Eleventh Circuit 2019-11-06 Denied IFP 28-usc-2244 capital-sentencing capital-sentencing-scheme certificate-of-appealability constitutional-challenge fourteenth-amendment habeas-corpus second-or-successive-petition sixth-amendment Whether the Eleventh Circuit should have issued a certificate of appealability because reasonable jurists could disagree over the district court's res…
19-514 Nikko A. Jenkins v. Nebraska Nebraska 2019-10-21 Denied Amici (3)Relisted (3) capital-sentencing death-penalty eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment mental-health mental-illness mitigating-evidence sixth-amendment solitary-confinement (1) Whether the sentencing court violated the requirement of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment that capital sentencers give meaningful consideration…
19-6235 Scott Thomas Erskine v. California California 2019-10-10 Denied IFP aggravating-circumstances capital-sentencing constitutional-amendments cruel-and-unusual-punishment death-penalty due-process equal-protection jury-trial jury-unanimity narrowing-requirement sentencing I. Does California's death penalty statute violate the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution by failing to…
19-6101 Raymond Eugene Johnson v. Tommy Sharp, Interim Warden Tenth Circuit 2019-09-30 Denied IFP aggravating-circumstances capital-sentencing death-penalty factfinder harm lockett-v-ohio mitigating-circumstances prejudice 1. Should the Court recalibrate the frameworks for judging the prejudice or harm of capital sentencing errors in jurisdictions where the factfinder ma…
19-336 Keith Chester Hill v. Lorie Davis, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2019-09-12 Denied Response Waived capital-sentencing discretionary-sentencing fifth-circuit glover-v-united-states habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel prejudice prejudice-analysis reasonable-probability sentencing strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Whether the court of appeals erred in holding that, to demonstrate that counsel was ineffective at a state, non-capital, discretionary sentencing proc…
19-5568 Keith D. Nelson v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-08-13 Denied IFP brain-damage capital-sentencing certificate-of-appealability childhood-abuse childhood-sexual-abuse ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel life-sentence mental-illness mitigating-evidence prejudice-analysis strickland-prejudice strickland-prejudice-standard strickland-standard 1. Does it violate the Strickland prejudice standard to conclude that never before presented evidence of brain damage, severe mental illness, and chil…
19-5041 Matthew Jamison v. Levern Cohen, Warden Fourth Circuit 2019-07-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP collateral-review conflict-with-other-states constitutional-law due-process equal-protection ex-post-facto federal-constitutional-rights federal-question retroactive-application vested-rights Did S.C. Supreme Court decide on an important federal question in ways conflicting with decision of other state? Did S.C. Supreme Court and U.S. Cour…
18A1349 Pennsylvania v. Milton Montalvo Pennsylvania 2019-06-21 Presumed Complete capital-sentencing death-penalty eighth-amendment ineffective-assistance jury-recommendation mental-health-mitigation Question not identified.
18A1263 Keith D. Nelson v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-06-04 Presumed Complete capital-sentencing certificate-of-appealability constitutional-standards death-penalty eighth-amendment ineffective-assistance Question not identified.
18-1495 Bryan P. Stirling, Director, South Carolina Department of Corrections, et al. v. Charles Christopher Williams Fourth Circuit 2019-05-31 Denied aedpa aedpa-review aedpa-standard capital-case capital-punishment capital-sentencing double-edged-evidence double-edged-sword fetal-alcohol-syndrome future-dangerousness habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Is a state court objectively unreasonable, for purposes of 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1), when it concludes that a capital defendant was not prejudiced by hi…
18-9464 Charles William Finney v. Florida Florida 2019-05-29 Denied IFP aggravating-factors capital-murder capital-sentencing death-penalty florida-constitution jury-trial jury-unanimity mitigating-circumstances sixth-amendment Whether the Sixth Amendment requires that a jury unanimously find all facts necessary to impose a death sentence in Florida, and whether Florida's cap…
18-9363 Michael Lee Robinson v. Florida Florida 2019-05-21 Denied IFP capital-sentencing constitutional-waiver due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection federal-constitutional-rights hurst-rule penalty-jury retroactivity waiver 1. Can a defendant in a state capital sentencing proceeding voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waive a federal constitutional right that was bo…
18-9349 Robert Lee McConnell v. William Gittere, Warden, et al. Nevada 2019-05-20 Denied IFP 8th-amendment aggravating-circumstances capital-sentencing constitutional-requirement due-process jury-finding mitigating-circumstances reasonable-doubt Whether the Constitution requires —in a state in which a jury is required to find that mitigating circumstances do not outweigh the aggravating circum…
18-9293 Eugene Cooper v. Florida Florida 2019-05-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion constitutional-rights due-process evidentiary-hearing federal-constitutional-rights newly-discovered-evidence postconviction-relief right-to-counsel trial-court-discretion Whether the trial court erred and abused its discretion in denying Mr. Cooper's 3.850 (b) (1)Motion for Postconviction relief based on Newly Discovere…
18-9274 William Lee Thompson v. Florida Florida 2019-05-14 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection retroactivity sentencing-procedure teague-v-lane In Hurst v. Florida this Court struck down Florida's longstanding capital sentencing procedures because they authorized a judge, rather than a jury, t…
18-9267 John Loveman Reese v. Florida Florida 2019-05-14 Denied IFP capital-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection jury-trial retroactivity In Hurst v. Florida this Court struck down Florida's longstanding capital sentencing procedures because they authorized a judge, rather than a jury, t…
18-9033 Michael Brandon Samra v. Alabama Alabama 2019-04-30 Denied IFP brain-development capital-punishment capital-sentencing death-penalty eighth-amendment evolving-standards evolving-standards-of-decency juvenile-offender juvenile-offenders neuroscientific-research In Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 578 (2005), this Court held that the Eighth Amendment forbids the imposition of the death penalty on offenders who …
18-9031 In Re Michael Brandon Samra 2019-04-30 Denied IFP brain-development capital-sentencing cruel-and-unusual death-penalty eighth-amendment evolving-standards habeas-corpus juvenile-offender juvenile-offenders neurological-development neuroscience In Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 578 (2005), this Court held that the Eighth Amendment forbids the imposition of the death penalty on offenders who …
18-8982 Daniel Warren v. Josh Shapiro, Attorney General of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 2019-04-24 Denied IFP civil-rights constitutional-challenge custody due-process federal-constitutional-rights federal-habeas federal-rights habeas-corpus judicial-procedure procedural-due-process state-court state-court-review state-statute Whether a state court of last resort which dismisses without argument or opinion a challenge to the constitutionality of a statute from a judgment dis…
18-8937 Michael P. Johnson v. Mark Hooks, Warden Sixth Circuit 2019-04-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP 28-usc-2253 certificate-of-appealability due-process federal-constitutional-right federal-constitutional-rights federal-court-rulings habeas-corpus similar-facts sixth-circuit state-court-proceeding Whether a state habeas petitioner may satisfy his burden under 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2) of making a substantial showing of a denial of a federal constit…
18-1306 Fred Anderson, Jr. v. Florida Florida 2019-04-16 Denied Amici (3) advisory-jury capital-punishment capital-sentencing death-penalty florida-supreme-court harmless-error hurst-v-florida judge-sentencing jury-trial jury-verdict sixth-amendment structural-error 1. Whether a judge-imposed death sentence that violates Hurst is a structural error requiring reversal of the sentence. 2. Whether a Hurst violation …
18-8683 James Aren Duckett v. Florida Florida 2019-04-03 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing constitutional-law due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection retroactivity Whether the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of Equal Protection and the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of capricious capital sentencing impose limits…
18-8670 Demetrius Terrence Frazier v. Alabama Alabama 2019-04-02 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing constitutional-interpretation cruel-and-unusual-punishment death-penalty death-penalty-sentencing due-process equal-protection judicial-fact-finding jury-fact-finding jury-sentencing jury-trial retroactive-rule retroactivity sixth-amendment 1. Does Alabama's insistence that a judge, not a jury, can weigh the mitigating and aggravating factors and sentence a person to death directly confli…
18-8476 Anthony Grandison v. Maryland Maryland 2019-03-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP capital-sentencing collateral-consequences constitutional-due-process criminal-procedure death-penalty due-process harmless-error jury-instructions mitigating-factors sentencing sentencing-guidelines standard-of-proof 1. Since Maryland Law Prohibits Imposition Of The Death Penalty Without Considering The Presentencing Investigation Report Convictions As Evidence The…
18-8453 Dusty Ray Spencer v. Florida Florida 2019-03-19 Denied IFP binding-precedent capital-sentencing constitutional-rights death-penalty death-penalty-sentencing due-process federal-constitutional-rights jury-instructions jury-responsibility jury-verdict sentencing-process structural-error unanimous-verdict 1. Whether structural error occurs when, after having been affirmatively misled regarding its role in the sentencing process so as to diminish its sen…
18-8432 Kelly Foust v. Ohio Ohio 2019-03-15 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP capital-defendant capital-punishment capital-sentencing constitutional-interpretation criminal-procedure death-penalty hurst-precedent hurst-v-florida jury jury-waiver sixth-amendment Does Ohio's death penalty scheme in which a jury's death verdict is a mere recommendation and in which a death sentence may not be imposed unless a ju…
18-8415 John L. Lotter v. Nebraska Nebraska 2019-03-13 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment judicial-discretion jury-trial sentencing sixth-amendment 1. Does Nebraska's capital sentencing scheme requiring a three-judge panel, rather than a jury, to impose a sentence of death violate the Eighth Amend…
18-8386 Michael Apelt v. Charles L. Ryan, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections Ninth Circuit 2019-03-12 Denied Amici (1)IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing evidentiary-hearing fact-finding federal-habeas federal-habeas-corpus habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-illness mental-impairment prejudice strickland-standard strickland-v-washington When determining if a capital defendant was prejudiced by counsel's deficient performance during state sentencing, whether the federal court may bypas…
18-8323 Bryan Frederick Jennings v. Florida Florida 2019-03-07 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing death-penalty death-penalty-review eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment hurst-v-state jury-recommendation newly-discovered-evidence 1. Whether the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments require the law of Hurst v. State to be factored into the analysis of the likelihood of a less severe …
18-8002 Brad Hunter Smith v. Arkansas Arkansas 2019-02-15 Denied IFP aggravating-circumstance aggravating-circumstances arbitrary-imposition capital-sentencing death-penalty eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment mitigating-circumstance mitigating-circumstances Whether the Arkansas Supreme Court's holding that a capital-sentencing jury permissibly declined to weigh an existent statutory mitigating circumstanc…
18-7442 Kevin Underwood v. Mike Carpenter, Warden Tenth Circuit 2019-01-16 Denied IFP aggravating-circumstances apprendi-v-new-jersey beyond-reasonable-doubt capital-punishment capital-punishment-scheme capital-sentencing death-penalty due-process jury-findings jury-instructions mitigating-circumstances reasonable-doubt supreme-court-precedent tenth-circuit Whether the Tenth Circuit's decision – that the "beyond the reasonable doubt" standard does not apply to the critical and prerequisite finding by Okla…
18-7091 Steven Anthony Butler v. Lorie Davis, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2018-12-18 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing competence competency-evaluation ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel investigation judicial-process judicial-review mental-competence mental-health mitigating-evidence procedural-fairness 1. When, in reviewing the two-part claim that trial counsel was ineffective both for failing to provide known, relevant information to mental health e…
18-6882 Willie Seth Crain, Jr. v. Florida Florida 2018-11-30 Denied IFP remedies prior constitutional defects in capital which requires unanimous jury findings of aggrava advisory-sentencing-panel aggravating-circumstances caldwell-v-mississippi capital-sentencing civil-rights constitutional-error death-penalty death-penalty-sentencing due-process harmless-error Hurst-decision hurst-v-florida jury-instructions jury-role jury-unanimity mitigating-circumstances sentencing sentencing-procedure On remand from the Florida Supreme Court's decision in Hurst v. Florida, the Florida Supreme Court held, as a state constitutional consequence, that a…
18-6877 Richard Earl Shere, Jr. v. Florida Florida 2018-11-29 Denied IFP capital-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection fourteenth-amendment jury-trial-rights retroactivity In Hurst v. Florida this Court struck down Florida's longstanding capital-sentencing procedures because they authorized a judge, rather than a jury, t…
18-6849 Steven James v. Massachusetts Massachusetts 2018-11-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review constitutional-rights due-process federal-constitutional-rights jdb-v-north-carolina jury-instructions juvenile-brain-science juvenile-homicide juvenile-justice juvenile-rights miller-retroactivity miller-v-alabama retroactivity sentencing-standards This case presents two questions of national importance concerning the federal constitutional rights of juvenile homicide defendants (like Steven Jame…
18-6818 Ruben Rangel v. California California 2018-11-26 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing constitutional-amendments death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment jury-determination jury-trial sentencing 1. Does California's death penalty statute violate the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution by failing to…
18-679 Erick Virgil Hall v. Idaho Idaho 2018-11-23 Denied Amici (1) aggravating-circumstances capital-punishment capital-sentencing constitutional-standards death-penalty felony-murder heinous-atrocious-cruel jury-sentencing narrowing-requirement propensity-to-commit-murder sentencing-guidance utter-disregard To prevent arbitrary imposition of the death penalty, this Court has required use of "'clear and objective standards' that provide 'specific and detai…
18-6776 Duane Eugene Owen v. Florida Florida 2018-11-21 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection jury-trial retroactivity state-court In Hurst v. Florida this Court struck down Florida's longstanding capital-sentencing procedures because they authorized a judge, rather than a jury, t…
18-6709 Lawrence Alfred Landrum v. Ohio Ohio 2018-11-15 Denied IFP capital-sentencing death-penalty eighth-amendment judge-sentencing judicial-discretion jury-recommendation jury-sentencing jury-trial sixth-amendment spaziano-v-florida In Hurst u. Florida, _ U.S. _, 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016), this Court: (a) overruled (1989), (b) invalidated Florida's capital punishment statute, and (c) …
18-6059 Cedric Carter v. Ohio Ohio 2018-09-20 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing death-penalty eighth-amendment judge-sentencing jury-trial jury-verdict sentencing-phase sixth-amendment spaziano-v-florida Is Ohio's death penalty scheme unconstitutional under Hurst v. Florida ?
18-5937 Charles Lee Burton v. Alabama Alabama 2018-09-11 Denied IFP aggravating-factors caldwell-v-mississippi capital-sentencing capital-sentencing-scheme constitutional-review death-penalty eighth-amendment evolving-standards-of-decency hurst-v-florida jury-instructions jury-recommendation mitigating-factors 1. Under Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016), and Caldwell v. Mississippi , 472 U.S. 320 (1985), is Alabama's capital sentencing scheme constituti…
18-5837 David Lee Roberts v. Alabama Alabama 2018-08-30 Denied IFP capital-sentencing criminal-procedure death-penalty federal-law hurst-v-florida judicial-findings jury-sentencing jury-verdict retroactivity ring-v-arizona David Roberts was sentenced to death based solely on findings by a judge after his sentencing jury voted that he should live. In Hurst v. Florida, 136…
18-5546 Billie Wayne Coble v. Lorie Davis, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2018-08-10 Denied IFP capital-case capital-sentencing constitutional-rights daubert daubert-standard due-process eighth-amendment expert-testimony future-dangerousness reliability 1. Have the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals improperly applied Barefoot v. Estelle to cat…
18-5437 Gary Richard Whitton v. Florida Florida 2018-08-02 Denied IFP advisory-jury capital-sentencing capricious due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection equal-protection-clause jury-trial jury-trial-rights retroactivity 1. whether the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of Equal Protection and the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of capricious capital sentencing impose lim…
18-5415 Louis B. Gaskin v. Florida Florida 2018-07-31 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing death-sentence due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection jury-trial retroactivity unconventional-rules 1. Whether the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of Equal Protection and the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of capricious capital sentencing impose lim…
18-5377 Jeffrey Glenn Hutchinson v. Florida Florida 2018-07-27 Denied IFP capital-sentencing capital-sentencing,federal-constitutional-rights,w constitutional-waiver federal-constitutional-rights federal-rights hurst-v-florida jury-fact-finding penalty-jury prospective-waiver voluntary-waiver 1. Can a defendant in a state capital sentencing proceeding voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waive a federal constitutional right that was bo…
18-5359 Ernest D. Suggs v. Florida Florida 2018-07-26 Denied IFP appellate-review caldwell-v-mississippi capital-sentencing death-penalty death-penalty-sentencing eighth-amendment hurst-v-florida judicial-responsibility jury-instructions jury-recommendation Does a Florida death sentence imposed pursuant to the capital sentencing scheme overruled in Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016), in a case where …
18-5303 Maurice Mason v. Ohio Ohio 2018-07-20 Denied IFP capital-sentencing death-penalty hurst-v-florida jury-decision jury-recommendation ohio-death-penalty ring-v-arizona sixth-amendment A capital sentencing jury in Ohio has the responsibility of finding that one or more statutory aggravating circumstances were proven to exist beyond a…
18-5181 Michael Gordon Reynolds v. Florida Florida 2018-07-09 Denied Relisted (4)IFP caldwell-v-mississippi capital-sentencing death-penalty death-penalty-sentencing eighth-amendment hurst-error jury-instructions ring-v-arizona structural-error 1. Whether the Florida Supreme Court's plurality decision rejecting Mr. Reynolds' Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. 320 (1985) claim is error. The jur…
18-5103 Jeffery Day Rieber v. Alabama Alabama 2018-07-03 Denied IFP appellate-counsel capital-sentencing eighth-amendment equal-protection ineffective-assistance judicial-override lesser-included-offense mitigating-evidence right-to-counsel sixth-amendment strickland-v-washington 1. Did Mr. Rieber's trial counsel provide constitutionally ineffective assistance by failing to pursue a lesser included alternative defense and faili…
18-5081 Alvin Leroy Morton v. Florida Florida 2018-07-03 Denied IFP binding-precedent capital-sentencing criminal-procedure death-penalty death-penalty-sentencing federal-constitutional-rights judicial-discretion jury-instructions jury-responsibility jury-role sentencing-procedure structural-error unanimous-verdict 1. Whether structural error occurs when, after having been affirmatively misled regarding its role in the sentencing process so as to diminish its sen…
18-5078 Bruce Pace v. Florida Florida 2018-07-03 Denied IFP arbitrary-application capital-sentencing disparate-treatment due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection fourteenth-amendment retroactivity 1. Whether the Florida Supreme Court's application of only partial retroactivity of Hurst v. State and Hurst v. Florida violates the Eighth and Fourte…
18-5060 Konstantinos X. Fotopoulos v. Florida Florida 2018-06-29 Denied IFP capital-sentencing due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection equal-protection-clause hurst-v-florida retroactivity ring-v-arizona state-court In Hurst v. Florida this Court struck down Florida's longstanding capital-sentencing procedures because they authorized a judge, rather than a jury, t…
18-5054 Brandy Bain Jennings v. Florida Florida 2018-06-29 Denied IFP arbitrary-sentencing capital-punishment capital-sentencing disparate-treatment due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection fourteenth-amendment retroactivity 1. Whether the Florida Supreme Court's application of only partial retroactivity of Hurst v. State and Hurst v. Florida violates the Eighth and Fourte…
18-5037 Richard Eugene Hamilton v. Florida Florida 2018-06-29 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentence capital-sentencing eighth-amendment equal-protection fourteenth-amendment hurst-v-florida jury-determination retroactivity supremacy-clause Does the Florida Supreme Court's decision limiting the retroactivity of Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016), to convictions final after the date o…
18-5012 Ian Deco Lightbourne v. Florida Florida 2018-06-28 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing disparate-treatment due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection fourteenth-amendment retroactivity Whether Florida's limited retroactive application of its Eighth Amendment decision in Hurst v. State violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments bec…
25A532 Bryan Frederick Jennings v. Florida, et al. Florida Denied capital-sentencing death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment postconviction-counsel Question not identified.