| 25-5153 |
Steven Catlin v. Edward J. Silva, Acting Warden |
Ninth Circuit |
2025-07-21 |
Denied |
IFP |
death-penalty federal-review habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance mitigation-evidence voir-dire |
1. Was the state court's summary denial of Petitioner's habeas claims alleging defense counsel's failure to investigate, develop and present available… |
| 24-695 |
Bill Cool, Warden v. Nathaniel Jackson |
Sixth Circuit |
2024-12-30 |
Denied |
|
criminal-procedure death-penalty lockett-precedent mitigation-evidence remand sentencing-review |
Has this Court clearly required state courts to reopen the mitigation evidence in every death-penalty remand, even if the error did not affect the def… |
| 24-6038 |
Robert Wharton v. Joseph Terra, Superintendent, State Correctional Institution at Phoenix |
Third Circuit |
2024-11-26 |
Denied |
Amici (1)IFP |
capital-case harmless-error juror-prejudice mitigation-evidence strickland-prejudice wiggins-standard |
1. How should the "one juror" standard of prejudice set forth in Wiggins v. Smith be applied where the mitigation that counsel failed to investigate w… |
| 24-581 |
Utah v. Douglas A. Lovell |
Utah |
2024-11-26 |
Denied |
Relisted (2) |
aggravating-factors criminal-sentencing death-penalty ineffective-assistance-counsel mitigation-evidence strickland-standard |
Did the Utah Supreme Court violate this Court's binding case law when it failed to (1) properly assess Strickland deficient performance by considering… |
| 24-5347 |
Devin Allen Bennett v. Mississippi |
Mississippi |
2024-08-20 |
Denied |
IFP |
death-penalty eighth-amendment ineffective-assistance mitigation-evidence sixth-amendment strickland-standard |
Whether trial counsel's failure to investigate, uncover, and present evidence of defendant's reduced moral culpability may be categorically discounted… |
| 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 … |
| 23-6888 |
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 … |
| 23-6738 |
Ellis Louis Mashburn, Jr. v. John Q. Hamm, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections |
Eleventh Circuit |
2024-02-13 |
Denied |
IFP |
capital-murder capital-trial death-penalty habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-illness mitigation-evidence prejudice sixth-amendment strickland-standard strickland-v-washington |
Whether, under Strickland v. Washington , a death row inmate is
precluded from establishing prejudice from his trial counsel's
deficient performance d… |
| 23-5851 |
Hector Sanchez-Torres v. Florida |
Florida |
2023-10-20 |
Denied |
IFP |
appellate-review criminal-sentencing culpability death-penalty eighth-amendment equal-protection mitigation-evidence |
1. In a case in which the victim died from a single gunshot wound and the
factfinder did not find that the death-sentenced codefendant fired the fatal… |
| 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,… |
| 23A129 |
Cuhuatemoc Peraita v. Alabama |
Alabama |
2023-08-16 |
Presumed Complete |
|
capital-punishment extraneous-prejudicial-information jury-impartiality mitigation-evidence sixth-amendment waiver-of-rights |
Question not identified. |
| 22-7809 |
Brandy Bain Jennings v. Ricky D. Dixon, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections |
Eleventh Circuit |
2023-06-16 |
Denied |
IFP |
constitutional-rights due-process effective-assistance-of-counsel habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance mitigation-evidence postconviction-proceedings postconviction-relief sixth-amendment strickland-standard strickland-v-washington |
Whether the Eleventh Circuit's analysis of ineffective assistance of counsel claims fails to protect the Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance… |
| 22-7134 |
Christopher L. Whitaker v. Ohio |
Ohio |
2023-03-28 |
Denied |
IFP |
14th-amendment 5th-amendment 6th-amendment 8th-amendment capital-defendant capital-punishment eighth-amendment fifth-amendment fourteenth-amendment mitigation-evidence self-incrimination sixth-amendment |
By compelling the Petitioner to undergo a pretrial psychological evaluation to rebut a mitigation claim it knew he was not making, and prohibiting him… |
| 21-7794 |
Paul C. Bolin v. Ron Broomfield, Warden |
Ninth Circuit |
2022-05-06 |
Denied |
IFP |
aggravating-factors capital-punishment habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance jury-discretion mitigation mitigation-evidence prejudice-analysis prejudice-standard strickland-standard strickland-v-washington |
This capital case, in which defense counsel's investigation and preparation for the penalty phase was grossly deficient, presents two questions concer… |
| 21-7778 |
Lester Ochoa v. Ron Davis, Warden |
Ninth Circuit |
2022-05-04 |
Denied |
IFP |
capital-punishment cruel-and-unusual-punishment cullen-v-pinholster eighth-amendment family-sympathy jury-instructions mitigation mitigation-evidence |
Whether a State court may, consistent with the Right Against Cruel and Unusual Punishment guaranteed by the Eighth Amendment, prohibit jurors from con… |
| 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… |
| 21-7061 |
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 … |
| 21-6846 |
Juan Jose Reynoso v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division |
Fifth Circuit |
2022-01-13 |
Denied |
IFP |
certificate-of-appealability fifth-circuit habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel judicial-review mitigation-evidence prejudice sixth-circuit supervisory-power tenth-circuit trial-counsel |
Whether the Fifth Circuit has "so far departed from the accepted and usual course of judicial proceedings, ... as to call for an exercise of this Cour… |
| 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… |
| 21-938 |
Bryan P. Stirling, Director, South Carolina Department of Corrections, et al. v. Sammie Louis Stokes |
Fourth Circuit |
2021-12-23 |
GVR |
Relisted (2) |
capital-punishment fourth-circuit habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence prejudice-analysis procedural-default strategic-decision strickland-standard strickland-v-washington |
I. Did the Fourth Circuit violate basic principles of Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) when it failed to reweigh the whole of the evidenc… |
| 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… |
| 20-8462 |
Roderick Napoleon Harris v. Texas |
Texas |
2021-06-30 |
Denied |
IFP |
-habeas-corpus -ineffective-assistance -prejudice-standard -professional-norms -sixth-amendment #NAME? capital-case mitigation-evidence prejudice professional-standards sixth-amendment strickland-v-washington |
1. Whether a habeas court must articulate and apply prevailing professional norms in order to determine whether trial counsel's representation was ine… |
| 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 … |
| 20-7813 |
Richard Allen Benson v. Kevin Chappell, Warden |
Ninth Circuit |
2021-04-21 |
Dismissed |
IFP |
aedpa aedpa-standard capital-case capital-punishment due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance mitigation-evidence prima-facie state-law |
1. When a federal habeas court examines for reasonableness a silent state court habeas denial pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) (AEDPA) and Harrington v… |
| 20-1302 |
Casey A. McWhorter v. Jefferson S. Dunn, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections, et al. |
Eleventh Circuit |
2021-03-19 |
Denied |
|
28-U.S.C-2254(d)(2) constitutional-rights criminal-defendant death-penalty-mitigation effective-assistance-of-counsel federal-review habeas-corpus impartial-jury ineffective-assistance jury-bias McDonough-Power-Equipment-v-Greenwood mitigation-evidence |
This case presents important issues concerning a criminal defendant's constitutional rights to an impartial jury and to the effective assistance of co… |
| 20-1306 |
Alan Dale Walker v. Mississippi |
Mississippi |
2021-03-19 |
Denied |
|
capital-case capital-punishment ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel investigation mitigation-evidence psychological-trauma sixth-amendment tactical-decisions trial-counsel |
1. Did the Mississippi Supreme Court fail to adhere to this Court's Sixth Amendment jurisprudence requiring counsel in a capital case to conduct a tho… |
| 20-1125 |
Antonio Devoe Jones v. Alabama |
Alabama |
2021-02-17 |
Denied |
|
6th-amendment alabama-law constitutional-rights criminal-procedure death-penalty due-process ineffective-assistance mitigation-evidence mitigation-investigation |
1. Was Petitioner deprived of his constitutional right to effective counsel after his defense lawyers misunderstood controlling Alabama law and mistak… |
| 20-6822 |
Rodney Berryman, Sr. v. Ron Davis, Warden |
Ninth Circuit |
2021-01-11 |
Denied |
IFP |
28-usc-2254 criminal-procedure federal-law habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-illness mitigation-evidence neuro-psychiatric-testing |
1. Was the state court's denial of Petitioner's claims in a written opinion and subsequent summary denial of the same claims in a habeas petition, all… |
| 20-6786 |
Erica Yvonne Sheppard v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division |
Fifth Circuit |
2021-01-05 |
Denied |
Amici (2)Relisted (2)IFP |
28-usc-2254 batson-challenge batson-v-kentucky fifth-circuit habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel jury-selection mitigation-evidence section-2254 wilson-v-sellers |
1. Does the Fifth Circuit's application of § 2254(d) —which explicitly requires deference to unreasonable state court opinions if the federal court ca… |
| 20-6772 |
Christopher J. Spreitz v. David Shinn, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry |
Ninth Circuit |
2021-01-05 |
Denied |
IFP |
cognitive-impairment ineffective-assistance martinez-rule martinez-v-ryan mitigation-evidence post-conviction-relief procedural-default statutory-mitigating-factor trial-counsel |
When must the court of appeals remand to a court of first instance for application of this Court s intervening decision in Martines v. Ryan, 566 U.S. … |
| 20-708 |
Joe Nathan James v. Terry Raybon, Warden, et al. |
Eleventh Circuit |
2020-11-23 |
Denied |
|
28-U.S.C.-2254-d appellate-review evidentiary-hearing habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-health mental-health-evidence mitigation-evidence post-conviction-review strickland-standard |
1. Whether the Court of Appeals failed to follow the review requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) and the case law produced surrounding Strickland v. Wa… |
| 20-6383 |
Vincent McFadden v. Missouri |
Missouri |
2020-11-19 |
Denied |
IFP |
fourteenth-amendment ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence prejudice-assessment rompilla sixth-amendment strickland-standard wiggins williams |
1. Whether the Missouri Supreme Court's total deference to counsel's "deliberate decisions" without considering their actual reasonableness amounts to… |
| 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… |
| 20-5378 |
James Lynn Styers v. David Shinn, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections |
Ninth Circuit |
2020-08-17 |
Denied |
IFP |
capital-case certificate-of-appealability collateral-review eddings-standard eddings-v-oklahoma habeas-corpus mitigation-evidence ninth-circuit second-or-successive-petition |
Whether the Arizona Supreme Court, during reweighing on collateral review to correct its error under Eddings v. Oklahoma, 455 U.S. 104 (1982), is requ… |
| 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… |
| 19-8921 |
Zane Floyd v. William Gittere, Warden, et al. |
Ninth Circuit |
2020-07-08 |
Denied |
Amici (1)IFP |
aedpa brain-damage capital-case fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence ninth-circuit-rule strickland-prejudice strickland-standard |
Trial counsel in this capital case knew that the defendant's mother had consumed alcohol while pregnant. Despite recognizing the need to investigate w… |
| 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… |
| 19-1054 |
Christa Gail Pike v. Gloria Gross, Warden |
Sixth Circuit |
2020-02-25 |
Granted |
Amici (1) |
cumulative-evidence death-penalty eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence prejudice strickland-standard strickland-v-washington |
1. Whether a defendant who asserts that trial counsel failed to present key evidence is precluded from showing prejudice under Strickland v. Washingto… |
| 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… |
| 19-569 |
Carlos Manuel Ayestas v. Lorie Davis, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division |
Fifth Circuit |
2019-10-30 |
Denied |
|
capital-case capital-case-mitigation-evidence ineffective-assistance mental-health mitigation-evidence mitigation-investigation professional-norms rompilla-v-beard sixth-amendment strickland-v-washington substance-abuse wiggins-v-smith |
This Court has found constitutionally deficient performance of counsel based on "prevailing professional norms" that precede the Court's own decisions… |
| 18-1551 |
Joseph Q. Mirarchi v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel |
Pennsylvania |
2019-06-19 |
Denied |
Response Waived |
attorney-disbarment constitutional-rights disbarment due-process due-process-clause effective-assistance-of-counsel expert-witness-testimony fourteenth-amendment ineffective-assistance-of-counsel medical-evidence mitigation-evidence neuropsychological-evidence sixth-amendment |
Whether the state supreme court order for attorney disbarment is inconsistent with the standards set forth in Selling v. Radford, 243 U.S. 46, 50-51 (… |
| 18-9564 |
Brian Suniga v. Texas |
Texas |
2019-06-06 |
Denied |
IFP |
death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment jury-instructions mitigation-evidence moral-blameworthiness tennard-v-dretke tex-code-crim-proc-art-37-071-section-2-f-4 |
1) Tennard v. Dretke, 542 U.S. 274 (2004) disavowed any requirement of a nexus between evidence introduced in mitigation of sentence in a death penalt… |
| 18-8057 |
Duane Allen Short v. Ohio |
Ohio |
2019-02-21 |
Denied |
IFP |
capital-defense capital-punishment death-penalty death-row effective-assistance-of-counsel ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation mitigation-evidence plea-bargaining sixth-amendment |
1. Is a capital defendant's Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel violated where, but for counsel's intervention and unfounded … |
| 18-8016 |
James Goff v. Ohio |
Ohio |
2019-02-19 |
Denied |
IFP |
capital-punishment death-penalty hurst-v-florida judicial-fact-finding jury-trial mitigation-evidence resentencing sentencing sixth-amendment |
Is a trial judge's independent weighing of new mitigation evidence and imposition of the death penalty at a resentencing hearing unconstitutional unde… |
| 18-5271 |
Roger W. Murray v. Charles L. Ryan, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections |
Ninth Circuit |
2018-07-18 |
Denied |
Relisted (2)IFP |
batson batson-challenge Batson-v-Kentucky civil-rights constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process equal-protection jury-selection mitigation-evidence ninth-circuit racial-discrimination voir-dire |
1. Whether the Arizona courts unreasonably applied Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986) and unreasonably determined the constitutionally significant… |