No. 18-8670

Demetrius Terrence Frazier v. Alabama

Lower Court: Alabama
Docketed: 2019-04-02
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
IFP
Tags: capital-punishment capital-sentencing constitutional-interpretation cruel-and-unusual-punishment death-penalty death-penalty-sentencing due-process equal-protection judicial-fact-finding jury-fact-finding jury-sentencing jury-trial retroactive-rule retroactivity sixth-amendment
Key Terms:
Punishment
Latest Conference: 2019-10-01
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Does Alabama's capital sentencing statute violate Hurst v. Florida?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

Questions Presented In Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016), this Court invalidated capital sentencing statutes that allowed a judge, not a jury, to make the ultimate factfinding that led to the imposition of a death sentence. Florida and Delaware swiftly made changes to their capital statutes, and also applied this Court’s reasoning to cases where death sentences were previously imposed. Alabama has steadfastly refused to apply this Court’s opinion to cases where judges, not juries, made the ultimate fact-finding that led to death sentences. This state of affairs leads to the following questions: 1. Does Alabama’s insistence that a judge, not a jury, can weigh the mitigating and aggravating factors and sentence a person to death directly conflict with this Court’s decision in Hurst v. Florida, 136 8. Ct. 616 (2016)? 2. In Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016), did this Court announce a new rule that applies retroactively to death row inmates who were sentenced based upon facts found by a judge and not a jury? i

Docket Entries

2019-10-07
Petition DENIED.
2019-06-20
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/1/2019.
2019-06-20
Reply of petitioner Demetrius Frazier filed. (Distributed)
2019-05-31
Brief of respondent State of Alabama in opposition filed.
2019-04-18
Motion to extend the time to file a response from May 2, 2019 to June 3, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
2019-04-18
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including June 3, 2019.
2019-03-29
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due May 2, 2019)
2019-02-06
Application (18A808) granted by Justice Thomas extending the time to file until March 31, 2019.
2019-01-30
Application (18A808) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from February 14, 2019 to March 31, 2019, submitted to Justice Thomas.

Attorneys

Demetrius Frazier
Natalie Carroll Rezek OlmsteadFederal Defenders Middle District of Alabama, Petitioner
Natalie Carroll Rezek OlmsteadFederal Defenders Middle District of Alabama, Petitioner
State of Alabama
Beth Jackson HughesOffice of the Attorney General, Respondent
Beth Jackson HughesOffice of the Attorney General, Respondent