Charles Ray Crawford v. Mississippi
Punishment JusticiabilityDoctri
Whether McCoy v. Louisiana's holding regarding a defendant's right to prevent counsel from conceding guilt applies retroactively under Teague v. Lane
In McCoy v. Louisiana , 584 U.S. 414 (2018), this Court held that the Sixth Amendment guarantees the defendant the right to personally decide whether to permit counsel to concede guilt before the jury, and that the trial court’s allowance of such a confession over the defendant ’s objection constitutes structural error. At petitioner’s capital trial, defense counsel conceded petitioner’s guilt before the jury over petitioner’s repeated objections to the trial court. The question presented is whether, under the retroactivity framework established in Teague v. Lane , 489 U.S. 288 (1989), McCoy announced a new rule that does not apply retroactively to convictions that became final before McCoy was decided.