With today’s decision in Berghuis v. Thompkins the Supreme Court has once again reversed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in a habeas case. Indeed, this is the fifthsuch reversal this year. In each case, a panel of the Sixth Circuit granted a prisoner’s habeas corpus petition. In each case, the Supreme Court […]
Archive | Sixth Circuit
Sixth Circuit Now 0-4 in Habeas Cases This Term
This morning the Supreme Court released its opinion in Renico v. Lett. By a vote of 6-3, the Court overturned a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granting habeas relief to Reginald Lett, who had been convicted of murder in Michigan. Chief Justice Roberts’ majority opinion begins with the following […]
Is a Shoebox Like a Suitcase?
This morning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an opinion in United States v. Taylor, affirming the district court’s suppression of evidence (a handgun and ammunition) found in a shoebox. Judge Gilman wrote the opinion for the court, joined by Judge Daughtrey. Judge Kethledge dissented. His dissenting opinion begins: The majority […]
Sixth Circuit 0-3 in Habeas Cases This Term
This morning, the Supreme Court unanimously reversed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Berghuis v. Smith. The Court held, in an opinion by Justice Ginsburg, that the Sixth Circuit had erroneously concluded that the Michigan Supreme Court’s rejection of criminal defendant Diapolis Smith’s Sixth Amendment claim involved an unreasonable application of […]
Justice O’Connor’s Latest Opinion
This morning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an opinion in Demings v. Nationwide Life Insurance, Co., affirming the dismissal of a proposed class action. Of note, the opinion was authored by Associate Justice (Ret.) Sandra Day O’Connor, sitting by designation. UPDATE: LAst August, Jess Bravin had this piece on Justice […]
Court Reverses in Smith v. Spisak
By Jonathan H. Adler on January 12, 2010 10:58 am in Criminal Procedure, Habeas, Sixth Circuit, Supreme Court
The Supreme Court released one opinion today — and it was not the eagerly anticipated Citizens United. The Court released another habeas decision instead. In Smith v. Spisak, a unanimous Court reversed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit’s grant of death-row inmate Frank Spisak’s habeas petition. Justice Breyer wrote the opinion, and […]
“It Is a Bad Idea . . . to Leave the Judge with a Smoldering Suspicion . . .”
On Friday, in Johnson v. Sherry, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated the district court’s denial of William Johnson’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus and remanded the case for additional proceedings to determine whether Johnson received inadequate assistance of counsel. In his habeas petition, Johnson […]
When Ineffective Assistance Becomes Malpractice
Ineffective assistance of counsel is a common habeas petition claim, particularly in capital cases. This has led me to wonder whether legal representation that is constitutionally deficient should presumptively constitute legal malpractice. After all, for a capital defendant, effective assistance of counsel can be a matter of life and death. Yet it is rare that […]
When Did Sex Offenders Have to Register?
This morning, in United States v. Cain, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit split over whether a sex offender convicted prior to the enactment of the federal Sexual Offenders Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) was required to update his sex offender registration before the Attorney General adopted regulations implementing the law’s registration […]
Good Luck, Mike
This morning, at the U.S. Supreme Court, my colleague Michael Benza will argue on behalf of the respondent in Smith v. Spisak. He will argue that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit correctly granted a writ of habeas corpus to death row inmate Frank Spisak due to constitutionally defective jury instructions and […]