Topic
Every decision we've filed under Habeas Corpus - State Prisoner (28 USC 2254).
The Ninth Circuit dismissed the State of Nevada's appeal as moot after the state secured a new plea agreement with the petitioner. The court held that reversing the district court's vacatur of the petitioner's felony conviction would provide no effective relief given the intervening misdemeanor conviction and sentence.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit denied a certificate of appealability to an Oklahoma prisoner seeking to challenge his murder conviction. The court held that the prisoner's federal habeas petition was untimely and failed to meet the actual innocence gateway despite presenting new affidavits.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit dismissed an appeal from a district court order denying a habeas corpus petition. The court found that the petitioner failed to demonstrate a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right required to obtain a certificate of appealability.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the denial of federal habeas relief to a death row inmate challenging the admission of a hospital confession. The court held that the Mississippi state courts did not unreasonably apply federal law or make unreasonable factual findings regarding the voluntariness of the statement.
The Sixth Circuit reversed a district court's dismissal of a federal habeas petition as untimely. The court held that conflicting communications from the Michigan Supreme Court created a factual dispute regarding equitable tolling that precluded summary dismissal.
The Fourth Circuit clarified that federal habeas courts must defer only to the last state court decision that provides reasoned analysis on the merits. In this ineffective assistance of counsel claim, the court affirmed the denial of relief because the state appellate court's finding of no prejudice was reasonable.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit denied a certificate of appealability to a state prisoner challenging the timeliness of his federal habeas petition. The court held that the petitioner failed to demonstrate that reasonable jurists would debate the district court's procedural ruling that his claim was time-barred under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.
The Fourth Circuit reversed a federal district court order granting habeas corpus relief to a South Carolina prisoner. The appellate court held that the state courts did not unreasonably apply federal law in rejecting the petitioner's speedy trial and ineffective assistance of counsel claims.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a habeas corpus appeal due to lack of jurisdiction. The court found the notice of appeal was filed after the statutory deadline.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial of a habeas corpus petition filed by a state prisoner. The court held that the Minnesota Supreme Court did not unreasonably apply federal law when it found the admission of an improperly obtained confession to be harmless error.