No. 24-7262

Richard Roland Laird v. Laurel Harry, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al.

Lower Court: Third Circuit
Docketed: 2025-05-21
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
IFP
Tags: aedpa circuit-split federal-review habeas-corpus merits-decision strickland-claim
Key Terms:
HabeasCorpus Punishment Securities
Latest Conference: 2025-09-29
Question Presented (AI Summary)

When a state court issues a reasoned merits decision on only one component of a multi-component claim, does AEDPA require federal habeas courts to defer to the state court's ruling or conduct de novo review on the unaddressed component?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act prohibits federal habeas corpus relief on any claim that was adjudicated on the merits in state court, unless that adjudication contradict ed or unreasonably applie d clearly established federal law or unreasonably determined the facts. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). The question presented is: When the last state court to review a petitioner’s claim issues a reasoned merits decision —but only on a single component of a multiple -component claim , such as the performance or prejudice prong of a claim under Strickland v. Washington , 466 U.S. 668 (1984) —does AEDPA require that a federal habeas court defer to a lower state court’s earlier ruling on the other component as the Third and Fifth Circuits have held, or should the federal court conduct de novo review on that component as the Seventh, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits have held?

Docket Entries

2025-10-06
Petition DENIED.
2025-06-26
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/29/2025.
2025-06-25
Reply of Richard Laird submitted.
2025-06-25
Reply of petitioner Richard Roland Laird filed. (Distributed)
2025-06-12
Brief of Laurel Harry, Sec PA Department of Corrections, et al in opposition submitted.
2025-06-12
Brief of respondent Laurel Harry, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al in opposition filed.
2025-05-13
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due June 20, 2025)

Attorneys

Laurel Harry, Sec PA Department of Corrections, et al
John Thomas FegleyBucks County District Attorney, Respondent
John Thomas FegleyBucks County District Attorney, Respondent
Richard Laird
Joseph W. LubyFederal Community Defender Office, E.D. Pa., Petitioner
Joseph W. LubyFederal Community Defender Office, E.D. Pa., Petitioner