Berghuis v. Smith, USSC No. 08-1402, 3/30/10 Defendants have Sixth Amendment right to impartial jury drawn from fair cross section of community. To establish prima facie violation of this “fair-cross-section,” requirement, a defendant must prove that: (1) a group qualifying as “distinctive” (2) is not fairly and reasonably represented in jury venires, and (3) “systematic… Read more
22. Habeas corpus
7th circuit court of appeals decision Habeas – Ineffective Assistance – Extraneous Juror Influence 1. Where both defendant and homicide victim were African-American, in-court proclamation from latter’s mother that “the situation is racist” is deemed to be “ambiguous and apparently innocuous.” It follows that counsel’s failure to pursue the matter was reasonable. Remmer v. United States… Read more
7th Circuit court of appeals decision Habeas – Procedural Bar Smith defaulted one claim by failing to raise it “in a full round of appellate review” in state court (i.e., he failed to include the issue in his request for Illinois supreme court review). He is unable to overcome the resultant bar on habeas review… Read more
7th circuit court of appeals decision; habeas review of: Wis court of appeals decision, 03AP3252 Habeas – Supplement Record … Although we generally decline to supplement the record on appeal with materials not before the district court, we have not applied this position categorically. See, e.g., Ruvalcaba v. Chandler, 416 F.3d 555, 562 n.2 (7th Cir. 2005) (in habeas… Read more
7th Circuit decision Habeas – Procedural Bar … If a state court clearly and expressly states that its judgment rests on a state procedural bar and does not reach the merits of a federal claim, then we are unable to consider that claim on collateral review. Harris v. Reed, 489 U.S. 255, 263 (1989); Pole, 570 F.3d at 937. And… Read more
7th Circuit decision Terry Stop / Frisk 1. Pulling up in a patrol car and telling Gentry to keep his hands up amounted to a stop for purposes of Terry analysis. 2. The stop, which was based on a report of a “suspicious person,” without reference to any specific facts concerning a crime, was not… Read more
Thaler v. Haynes, USSC No. 09–273, 2/22/10 (per curiam) Nothing in Supreme Court caselaw clearly requires “that a demeanor-based explanation for a peremptory challenge must be rejected unless the judge personally observed and recalls the relevant aspect of the prospective juror’s demeanor.” In other words, there’s no requirement that the judge have been present during… Read more
US Supreme Court decision Habeas – Sufficiency of Evidence Review Evidence submitted well after trial may not be considered in determining sufficiency of the state’s proof under Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (1979) … … An “appellate court’s reversal for insufficiency of the evidence is in effect a determination that the government’s case against the defendant was… Read more
