Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Tenth Circuit Blog

Criminal Law

: Tenth Circuit Blog

No Clear S.Ct. Precedent Requires States to Prove Every Element in Jury Instructions

By Shari Allison

Bates v. Workman, 2009 WL 294367 (2/9/09) (unpub'd) - No federal habeas relief under AEDPA was available for the state's failure to present sufficient evidence to prove an element that was in the jury instructions, but was not an element under state law. Under federal law, under the law-of-the-case doctrine, the government must prove every element in the jury instructions, even if the element is not really an element under federal law. But there is no clearly established Supreme Court law that the states must apply that law-of-the-case doctrine. Therefore no relief under AEDPA.

Full post as published by Tenth Circuit Blog on February 17, 2009 (boomark / email).