No. 22-6924

Gerald Drummond v. Pennsylvania

Lower Court: Pennsylvania
Docketed: 2023-03-03
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP
Tags: constitutional-rights due-process fair-trial ineffective-assistance-of-counsel ineffective-counsel reasonable-doubt reasonable-doubt-instruction state-courts structural-error trial-procedure
Key Terms:
DueProcess Punishment JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2023-04-14
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Is the Pennsylvania courts inappropriately denying the United States constitutional protections of the petitioner rights in their denial of relief to ineffectiveness of trial counsel's failure to object to the structural error in the unconstitutional reasonable doubt instruction?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTION PRESENTED . MR. GERALD DRUMMOND, PETITIONER, ALLEGES THE PENNSYLVANIA courts ARE PURPOSEFULLY REFUSING TO GRANT SOUGHT RELIEF WHILE KNOWING THAT PETITIONER'S CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS TO A FAIR AND IMPARTIAL TRIAL AND DUE PROCESS CLAUSE WAS VIOLATED BY THE TRIAL JUDGE WITHIN THE CHARGE TO THE JURY, SPECIFICALLY, THE REASONABLE DOUBT INSTRUCTION. ante TRIAL JUDGE HAS USED THIS SAME INSTRUCTION IN NUMEROUS HOMICIDE TRIALS AND THE THIRD CIRCUIT, AS WELL AS THE PENNSYLVANIA SUPREME couRT, HAS . ‘ACKNOWLEDGED THE INSTRUCTION AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL, ‘THOUGH THE STATE CONFLICTS OPINIONS WITH THE FEDERAL COURTS AS TO WHETHER COUNSEL Is INEFFECTIVE FOR FAILING TO OBJECT 10 THE UNCONSTITUTIONALITY | OF THE INFIRM INSTRUCTION. THE LOWER COURTS ARE REFUSING TO “GRANT | RELIEP ' BECAUSE IT WOULD CAUSE A GATEWAY EFFECT FOR DEFENDANTS THAT SUFFERED THIS SAME INJUSTICE, OVERTLY OVERCROWDING AN ALREADY CONGESTED bysrem. RATHER THAN PROVIDING RELIEF FOR THE AFFLICTED, THE STATE COURTS: ARE USING THE FEDERAL COURT AS THEIR PERSONAL DUMPING GROUNDS AND IGNORING ‘THE MERITORIOUS CLAIMS FILED IN THEIR COURT; LIKE THAT OF THE PETITIONER'S. 7 1. IS THE PENNSYLVANIA COURTS INAPPROPRIATELY DENYING THE |UNITED STATES CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS OF THE PETITIONER RIGHTS IN) THEIR DENIAL OF RELIEF TO INEFFECTIVENESS OF TRIAL COUNSEL'S FAILURE TO OBJECT TO THE STRUCTURAL ERROR IN THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL REASONABLE DOUBT INSTRUCTION? : = II " “Ee “s : Ay . TABLE OF CONTENT . : QUESTION PRESENTED... eee eee ee cee ee ccc ce cc ccc cece cece ncececeec

Docket Entries

2023-04-17
Petition DENIED.
2023-03-23
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/14/2023.
2023-03-21
Waiver of right of respondent Pennsylvania to respond filed.
2023-02-19
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due April 3, 2023)

Attorneys

Gerald Drummond
Gerald Drummond — Petitioner
Gerald Drummond — Petitioner
Pennsylvania
Nancy WinkelmanDistrict Attorney's Office, Respondent
Nancy WinkelmanDistrict Attorney's Office, Respondent