Docket Decision below (9th Cir, unpublished) Question Presented: For more than 25 years, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) held that a legal permanent resident (LPR) who is deportable due to a criminal conviction could seek a discretionary waiver of removal under Section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. §1182(c), provided that… Read more
A. Cert Grants
Docket Decision below (621 F.3d 296 (3rd Cir 2010)) Question Presented: Whether the Fourth Amendment permits a jail to conduct a suspicionless strip search of every individual arrested for any minor offense no matter what the circumstances. Scotusblog page Caselaw in this Circuit has long rejected suspicionless jail strip searches for minor offenses. Mary Beth… Read more
Docket Decision below (3rd Cir No. 07-2163, 5/28/10) Question Presented (by Scotusblog): For purposes of adjudicating a state prisoner’s petition for federal habeas relief, what is the temporal cutoff for whether a decision from this Court qualifies as “clearly established Federal law” under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d), as amended by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty… Read more
Docket Decision below (11th Cir No. 07-15187, 10/26/09) Question Presented (by Scotusblog): Whether the Eleventh Circuit properly held that there was no “cause” to excuse any procedural default where petitioner was blameless for the default, the state’s own conduct contributed to the default, and petitioner’s attorneys of record were no longer functioning as his agents at… Read more
Docket Decision below (3rd Cir No. 08-4747, 5/14/10) Question Presented (by Scotusblog): Validity of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and its implementing regulations. Cert petition Petitioner’s reply Scotusblog page Scotusblog analysis: The newly granted sex offender case involves an attempt to challenge the retroactive application of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act… Read more
Docket Decision below (617 F.3d 813 (6th Cir 2010)) Question Presented (by Scotusblog): Whether this Court’s clearly established precedent under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 holds that a prisoner is always “in custody” for purposes of Miranda any time that prisoner is isolated from the general prison population and questioned about conduct occurring outside the prison… Read more
Docket Decision below (CTA4) Scotusblog page The case appears to involve review of federal sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act. Consult Scotusblog page for further details. Decision, 6/6/11… Read more
Docket Decision below (311 S.W.3d 350, Mo. Ct. App) Question Presented: Contrary to the holding in Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52 (1985)–which held that a defendant must allege that, but for counsel’s error, the defendant would have gone to trial–can a defendant who validly pleads guilty successfully assert a claim of ineffective assistance of… Read more
