Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued two unanimous opinions in habeas cases.

In Durr v. Mitchell, the Court considered and rejected death row inmate Darryl Durr's appeal of the denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. An Ohio jury had sentenced Durr to death for the 1988 rape, kidnapping and murder of Angel Vincent O'Nan. Judge Suhrheinrich wrote for the panel, and Judge Cole wrote a separate concurring opinion.

In Bachman v. Bagley, another panel affirmed the district court's conclusion that Ronald Dale Bachman's habeas petition was untimely. Bachman, who was convicted in 1995 on multiple charges of rape and related crimes for the repeated sexual assault of his own daughter, had argued unsuccessfully that his designation as a "sexual predator" in 2004 should reopen the statute of limitations to challenge his original conviction.

There was not nearly so much unanimity in United States v. Arnold, in which a divided Sixth Circuit, sitting en banc, divided over Joseph Arnold's felon-in-possession of a firearm conviction. Judge Sutton wrote the opinion for the court upholding the conviction, joined by Chief Judge Boggs and Judges Batchelder, Daughtery, Rogers, Cook, and McKeague. Judges Clay and Griffin each authored opinions concurring in part and dissenting in part. Judge Moore dissented, joined by Judges Martin, Cole, and Gilman.