No. 20-958

Rickey Leon Scott v. Eric Arnold, Warden

Lower Court: Ninth Circuit
Docketed: 2021-01-14
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Amici (1)Response Waived Experienced Counsel
Tags: aedpa civil-rights due-process judicial-interpretation precedent stare-decisis
Key Terms:
HabeasCorpus Punishment Privacy JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2021-02-19
Question Presented (AI Summary)

When a Justice contributes the necessary fifth vote to a majority opinion but also writes a concurrence interpreting that opinion, should lower courts disregard the concurrence and rely exclusively on the majority opinion to discern the holding in the case?

Question Presented (from Petition)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW 1 When a Justice contributes the necessary fifth vote to a majority opinion but also writes a concurrence interpreting that opinion, should lower courts disregard the concurrence and rely exclusively on the majority opinion to discern the holding in the case (as the Seventh Circuit and sometimes the Fourth Circuit have held); or should they grant the concurrence precedential weight (as the Third and Fifth Circuits, and sometimes the Ninth Circuit, have held)? And should the concurrence be granted precedential weight only if it is “narrower” than the majority opinion, per the rule in Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188, 193 (1977)? 2. For purposes of applying the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1), did this Court’s decision in McDonough Power Equipment, Inc. v. Greenwood, 464 U.S. 548 (1984)—when read in light of the concurrence by Justice Blackmun, who also provided the fifth vote for the majority opinion—‘“clearly establish” that a defendant must be granted a new trial when a juror’s dishonest voir dire responses concealed information that would have given the defendant a valid basis to challenge that juror for implied bias? 1610259

Docket Entries

2021-02-22
Petition DENIED.
2021-02-16
Brief amici curiae of Due Process Institute, et al. filed. (Distributed)
2021-02-03
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/19/2021.
2021-01-29
Waiver of right of respondent Eric Arnold, Warden to respond filed.
2021-01-11
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due February 16, 2021)

Attorneys

Due Process Institute, The Cato Institute, and The National Association for Public Defense
L. Barrett BossCozen O'Connor, Amicus
L. Barrett BossCozen O'Connor, Amicus
Eric Arnold, Warden
Peggy S. RuffraState of California Department of Justice, Respondent
Peggy S. RuffraState of California Department of Justice, Respondent
Rickey Leon Scott
Steven A. HirschKeker Van Nest & Peters, LLP, Petitioner
Steven A. HirschKeker Van Nest & Peters, LLP, Petitioner