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A summary reversal & Skinner granted cert

By cdw

The Court has summarily reversed and remanded in Jefferson v. Upton. The Court also this morning granted cert on Hank Skinner v Switzer. [update] On first read, the SCOTUS’ per curiam GVR in Jefferson v. Upton is surprising as it applies to a relatively small class of  habeas (almost exclusively capital) cases.  Jefferson in some ways is a fairly straightforward reversal.  The Eleventh Circuit, in this pre-AEDPA case,  failed to adequately review the state court’s findings instead giving them the presumption of correctness given to state court factual findings without adequately reviewing the various circumstances under which that presumption may apply.  The claims raised present classic penalty phase ineffectiveness so the result comes as little surprise  once the Court decided to act...continue to full post

Full post as published by Capital Defense Weekly on May 24, 2010 (boomark / email).