No. 19-7284

Bobby Y. Wallace, Jr. v. Darrel Vannoy, Warden

Lower Court: Fifth Circuit
Docketed: 2020-01-14
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Amici (1)Response WaivedIFP
Tags: aedpa aedpa-deference certificate-of-appealability criminal-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment federalism gross-disproportionality habitual-offender insufficient-evidence jackson-standard jackson-v-virginia judicial-review no-evidence proportionality-review sentencing state-court-decisions
Key Terms:
DueProcess HabeasCorpus Privacy JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2020-02-28
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Could reasonable jurists debate whether the state court decision to affirm Petitioner's sentence is contrary to or an unreasonable application of the 'gross disproportionality' standard applicable to non-categorical Eighth Amendment claims?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED The Supreme Court of Louisiana has a demonstrable, decadeslong history of substituting in word and deed a “no evidence” standard for the “insufficient evidence” standard of Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979). (1) Could reasonable jurists debate whether this pattern may justify concluding that, whatever the words in a particular case, the state courts are using a standard that is “contrary to” or an “unreasonable application of’ Jackson? Petitioner received a mandatory life-without-parole sentence as a third offender for constructive simple possession of one ounce of cocaine, while his co-defendants (including two other third offenders) received probation, time served, and a term of years. (2) Could reasonable jurists debate whether the state court decision to affirm Petitioner's sentence is contrary to or an unreasonable application of the “gross disproportionality” standard applicable to non-categorical Eighth Amendment claims? (3) Whether the Court of Appeals' misapplication of the standard for issuing a certificate of appealability warrants an exercise of this Court's supervisory power by a GVR. i

Docket Entries

2020-03-02
Petition DENIED.
2020-02-13
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/28/2020.
2020-02-13
Brief amici curiae of The Promise of Justice Initiative and The Innocence Project New Orleans filed. (Distributed)
2020-02-03
Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Bobby Y. Wallace, Jr.
2020-01-29
Waiver of right of respondent Darrel Vannoy, Warden to respond filed.
2020-01-09
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due February 13, 2020)

Attorneys

Bobby Y. Wallace, Jr.
Bobby Y. Wallace Jr. — Petitioner
Bobby Y. Wallace Jr. — Petitioner
Darrel Vannoy, Warden
Suzanne M. Williams — Respondent
Suzanne M. Williams — Respondent
The Promise of Justice Initiative and The Innocence Project New Orleans
G. Ben CohenThe Promise of Justice Initiative, Amicus
G. Ben CohenThe Promise of Justice Initiative, Amicus