No. 19-6863

In Re Melvin Bonnell

Lower Court: N/A
Docketed: 2019-12-05
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Relisted (2)IFP
Tags: constitutional-law due-process federal-habeas federal-review habeas-corpus retroactive-application retroactivity sixth-circuit state-court-decisions teague-doctrine teague-standard
Key Terms:
HabeasCorpus Punishment JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2020-04-03 (distributed 2 times)
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether a state court's merits decision applying a new rule of constitutional law opens up federal review

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW Bonnell’s habeas petition presents exceptional circumstances that, if left unresolved, will cause disparate interpretations of the federal Constitution across the several states so that the Constitution may mean one thing in Ohio and another thing in other states. If the Sixth Circuit’s holding in this case is correct, then federal courts are barred from reviewing and unifying the states’ individual interpretations of federal constitutional law in instances where the states voluntarily apply new law retroactively without direction from this court to do so. If the Sixth Circuit’s holding is correct, Bonnell may be put to death without any federal court ever reviewing whether the State of Ohio unlawfully infringed upon his federal constitutional rights. The questions presented are: L. Whether a state court’s merits decision applying a new rule of constitutional law, once the state gives said rule broader retroactive effect than Teague requires, opens up federal review of the state court’s application of clearly established federal law? I. Whether the Ohio Supreme Court’s merits denial of Bonnell’s Hurst claim was erroneous insofar as appellate reweighing cannot cure the errors that affected the jury deliberations in Bonnell’s case? i

Docket Entries

2020-04-06
Rehearing DENIED.
2020-03-18
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/3/2020.
2020-03-13
Petition for Rehearing filed.
2020-02-24
Petition DENIED.
2020-01-23
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/21/2020.
2020-01-16
Reply of petitioner Melvin Bonnell filed.
2020-01-03
Brief of respondent Tim Shoop, Warden in opposition filed.
2019-12-03
Petition for writ of habeas corpus and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed.

Attorneys

Melvin Bonnell
Alan Curtis RossmanOffice of the Federal Public Defender, Petitioner
Alan Curtis RossmanOffice of the Federal Public Defender, Petitioner
Tim Shoop, Warden
Benjamin Michael FlowersOhio Attorney General Dave Yost, Respondent
Benjamin Michael FlowersOhio Attorney General Dave Yost, Respondent