Topic
Every decision we've filed under Constitutional.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Thomas Creech's third federal habeas petition as a barred second or successive claim. The court held that Creech's Eighth Amendment argument regarding evolving standards of decency was ripe years ago and could have been raised in his prior proceedings.
The Ninth Circuit held that dismissing a prisoner's first habeas motion because the claims were legally non-cognizable constitutes an adjudication on the merits, barring any later-filed motion on those same grounds as successive. However, the court transferred a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel regarding the first motion to the district court, as that specific claim could not have been raised previously.
The Second Circuit affirmed the denial of Abderrahmane Farhane's habeas petition, holding that his counsel was not ineffective for failing to warn him about denaturalization risks. The court ruled that civil denaturalization is a collateral consequence of a guilty plea, meaning the Sixth Amendment does not require defense attorneys to advise on such immigration consequences.