The timeline:
1) September 2010, Judge Merritt, joined by Judge Martin, authors Mitts v. Bagley, granting the petition for a writ of habeas corpus in a death penalty case governed by AEDPA.
2) December 2010: The Sixth Circuit denies rehearing en banc. The case is noted here at the VC for the concurring opinion of Judge Sutton (joined by Judge Kethledge) concluding that the panel opinion is simply wrong, but that the case does not meet the Sixth Circuit standards for rehearing en banc. Judge Sutton writes: “Sometimes there is nothing wrong with letting the United States Supreme Court decide whether a decision is correct and, if not, whether it is worthy of correction.”
3) Today, May 2, 2011: The United States Supreme Court summarily reverses unanimously in a per curiam opinion, Bobby v. Mitts.
4) Sometime in 2012, I predict: Judges Martin and Merritt tell the Supreme Court that they were all wrong to reverse them.