mental-illness

99 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-6476 Demond Depree Bluntson v. Texas Texas 2026-01-05 Pending IFP faretta-standard fourteenth-amendment judicial-discretion mental-illness self-representation sixth-amendment Whether the 6th and 14th Amendments prevent a State appellate court from imputing a finding of severe mental illness to deny a defendant's right to se…
25A684 Jeffrey A. Weisheit v. Ron Neal, Warden Seventh Circuit 2025-12-10 Application capital-trial habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance mental-illness right-to-counsel sixth-amendment Whether a criminal defendant's Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel is violated by sustained conflicts between lead and co-counsel…
25-5774 Jason Adam Jensen v. United States, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2025-10-01 Denied IFP civil-procedure constitutional-rights due-process in-forma-pauperis mental-illness pro-se-litigant Does the in forma pauperis dismissal process under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) (ii) deprive pro se litigants with mental illness of due process and proc…
25-5687 Curtis Gorham v. Michael Alan Jenkins, et al. Florida 2025-09-19 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP civil-rights healthcare-liability judicial-procedure medical-malpractice mental-illness pro-se-litigation Whether a mentally ill pro se litigant's repeated medical malpractice and civil rights claims against multiple healthcare providers and institutions c…
25-5213 Cimeon Dion Williams v. United States Fifth Circuit 2025-07-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP acceptance-of-responsibility constitutional-principles criminal-procedure mental-illness post-plea-misconduct sentencing-guidelines Whether a district court may deny a reduction for acceptance of responsibility under USSG § 3E1.1 based solely on uncorroborated allegations of post p…
24-7464 Shukeitha Jackson v. AbbVie, Inc. Seventh Circuit 2025-06-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP appointed-counsel civil-rights due-process mental-illness pro-se-litigant title-vii Whether a pro se litigant with documented severe mental illness is entitled to appointed counsel in a civil rights employment matter under Title VII w…
24-1067 John Wetzel, et al. v. Roy L. Williams Third Circuit 2025-04-09 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) constitutional-rights death-row eighth-amendment mental-illness qualified-immunity solitary-confinement Was it clearly established for qualified immunity purposes that long-term solitary confinement for a death-row inmate with a mental illness violated t…
24-562 Narjes Modarresi v. Texas Texas 2024-11-20 Denied Response RequestedRelisted (2) due-process ineffective-assistance involuntary-confession mental-illness miranda-rights sixth-amendment Whether the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals improperly rejected the trial court's recommendation of relief for ineffective assistance of counsel regar…
24-5266 Darrell Gunn v. New York New York 2024-08-07 Denied IFP capital-punishment constitutional-rights due-process guilty-plea ineffective-assistance mental-illness Whether capital defense counsel's failure to present mitigating evidence of mental illness constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel and violates …
24-5175 Kalamice Keson Piggee v. Gena Jones, Warden Ninth Circuit 2024-07-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP competency competency-hearing due-process expert-testimony judicial-review mental-health-evaluation mental-illness retrospective-competency-determination trial-court-discretion trial-procedure Whether the Ninth Circuit's decision sanctioned a departure from this Court's precedent requiring a trial court to hold a competency hearing if substa…
23-7261 Geary Wayne Walton v. Ryan Thornell, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, et al. Ninth Circuit 2024-04-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP cruel-and-unusual-punishment death-penalty eighth-amendment execution mental-illness rational-understanding Whether the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits the execution of a prisoner who has a severe mental illness that …
23-7243 Nathaniel Blayn Becker v. United States Fourth Circuit 2024-04-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure due-process explosive-devices mental-illness obstruction-of-justice psychotic-disorder right-to-testify sentencing-enhancement trial-testimony Whether the obstruction of justice enhancement for 'false' trial testimony by the defendant violates the right to testify when the court did not make …
23A910 Chen Chen Hsu v. Superior Court of California, Alameda County, et al. California 2024-04-11 Presumed Complete certiorari due-process fourteenth-amendment mental-illness pro-se supreme-court-rules Whether the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment permits an extension of time to file a petition for writ of certiorari for a pro se litigan…
23-6964 Harvey Cantrell v. Department of Veterans Affairs Seventh Circuit 2024-03-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP 8th-amendment capital-punishment civil-rights competency due-process mental-illness Whether the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits the execution of a prisoner who has a severe mental illness that …
23A761 Thomas Eugene Creech v. Idaho Idaho 2024-02-21 Denied constitutional-proportionality cruel-and-unusual death-penalty eighth-amendment execution mental-illness Whether the Eighth Amendment prohibits the execution of an individual with a demonstrated history of severe mental illness under the Eighth Amendment'…
23-6738 Ellis Louis Mashburn, Jr. v. John Q. Hamm, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections Eleventh Circuit 2024-02-13 Denied IFP capital-murder capital-trial death-penalty habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-illness mitigation-evidence prejudice sixth-amendment strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Whether a death row inmate is precluded from establishing prejudice from his trial counsel's deficient performance during the penalty phase if his cou…
23-652 Chadwick Dotson, Director, Virginia Department of Corrections v. Berman Justus, Jr. Fourth Circuit 2023-12-15 Denied civil-procedure equitable-tolling extraordinary-circumstance federal-rule-of-civil-procedure-60(b)(6) habeas habeas-corpus mental-illness statute-of-limitations Whether a habeas petitioner can show that a mental illness constitutes an 'extraordinary circumstance' that warrants reopening a final judgment under …
23-604 Leon Phillip Jacob v. Texas Texas 2023-12-06 Denied habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-illness mitigating-evidence prejudice-analysis strickland-standard strickland-v-washington williams-v-taylor Whether the Texas courts' prejudice analysis defies this Court's precedents in Strickland v. Washington, Williams v. Taylor, and Wiggins v. Smith
23-6178 Decardo Moore v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-12-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP concurrent-sentencing criminal-sentencing fact-finding intent-finding mental-health mental-illness plea-colloquy procedural-reasonableness second-degree-murder sentencing-errors substantive-reasonableness venue-insufficiency Adequacy-of-sentencing-consideration-for-mental-illness
23-6149 Gary Lynn Gatlin v. United States Fourth Circuit 2023-12-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP 4241-motion competency-evaluation criminal-procedure due-process intellectual-disability mental-competency mental-illness standards-of-review Should courts evaluate evidence supporting motions for competency evaluations differently when the claimed basis for incompetency is intellectual disa…
23A472 Travis Dwight Green v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2023-11-27 Presumed Complete capital-punishment habeas-corpus ineffective-counsel mental-illness procedural-default schizophrenia Whether a defendant's severe mental illness and state habeas counsel's abandonment can constitute cause to excuse procedural default in a capital case…
23-5787 Richard Frasca v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, et al. First Circuit 2023-10-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP age-discrimination constitutional-rights depression equitable-tolling evidentiary-hearing mental-illness procedural-flaws retaliation Whether equitable tolling applies to the statute of limitations based on depression and mental illness resulting from age discrimination and retaliati…
23-5565 William E. Wells, III v. Florida Florida 2023-09-13 Denied IFP aggravating-factors apprendi-v-new-jersey capital-sentencing death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment mental-illness proportionality-review Whether Florida's capital sentencing scheme violates the Eighth Amendment
23A93 Johnny Johnson v. David Vandergriff, Warden Missouri 2023-07-31 Denied death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment habeas-corpus mental-illness panetti-competency Whether the Eighth Amendment and Due Process Clause prohibit executing a prisoner who, due to severe mental illness, lacks rational understanding of t…
23-5244 Johnny Johnson v. David Vandergriff, Warden Eighth Circuit 2023-07-31 Denied IFP 28-usc-2254 capital-punishment competency-to-be-executed death-penalty delusional-beliefs habeas-corpus mental-competency mental-illness panetti-standard state-court-review Whether the state court's finding that the petitioner did not meet the Panetti threshold for incompetence to be executed was unreasonable under 28 U.S…
23-5197 Marshall Ray Partain v. Jason Hallmark, et al. Fifth Circuit 2023-07-26 Denied IFP appeal-dismissal civil-procedure court-of-appeals deadlines due-process federal-rules-of-civil-procedure filing-deadline judicial-process legal-timeliness mental-illness procedural-grounds standing Should a federal district court allow an appeal to proceed if the opposing party fails to object to an untimely filed appeal?
23-5180 Dickens Etienne v. Michelle Edmark, Warden First Circuit 2023-07-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-investigation criminal-procedure exculpatory-evidence ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-health mental-illness post-arrest-conduct post-conviction-review right-to-counsel strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Whether trial counsel's failure to investigate the defendant's history of mental illness and mental health issues, including as it related to the alle…
23-5133 Gary Watkins v. Willis Chapman, Acting Warden Sixth Circuit 2023-07-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-rights equitable-tolling habeas-corpus mental-illness relation-back statute-of-limitations Whether the district court erroneously held that petitioner's supplemental habeas petition was untimely filed because it did not relate back to the in…
22-7799 Gregory Smith v. Patricia Thompson, Superintendent, State Correctional Institution at Albion, et al. Third Circuit 2023-06-15 Denied IFP appellate-review certificate-of-appealability constitutional-rights due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-disability mental-illness pro-se pro-se-defendant Should a certificate of appealability issue to debate the matter of counsel being appointed to aid a pro se defendant suffering from retardation and m…
22-7608 Phillip L. Horrell v. Illinois Illinois 2023-05-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP 14th-amendment ake-v-oklahoma constitutional-rights due-process mental-illness plea-bargaining plea-hearing sanity-examination supervisory-power Whether the plea of guilty but mentally ill violated due process
22-7574 Nawaz Ahmed v. Tim Shoop, Warden Sixth Circuit 2023-05-16 Denied IFP appellate-procedure civil-procedure federal-rules-of-appellate-procedure federal-rules-of-civil-procedure final-judgment mental-illness notice-of-appeal pro-se-motion separate-document-rule separate-judgment statutory-interpretation timely-appeal whether-the-court-of-appeal-erred-in-its-reliance-on-28-u.s.c.-§-2101(c)
22-6972 Deandre Earp v. United States Fourth Circuit 2023-03-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection fourth-circuit judicial-interpretation mental-illness sentencing Whether a criminal defendant who is found guilty but mentally ill can be punished as harshly as a defendant found guilty and sane
22-6812 Ernest Luther Taylor v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-02-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal court-appointed-counsel criminal-procedure indigent-defendant mental-health mental-illness restitution social-security social-security-disability Did the District Court err in ordering restitution interest for a defendant with mental illness and lack of income?
22-6690 Steven Vernon Bixby v. Bryan P. Stirling, Commissioner, South Carolina Department of Corrections, et al. Fourth Circuit 2023-02-02 Denied IFP certificate-of-appealability death-penalty federal-courts federal-review habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-illness Whether 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1), F-R.A.P. 22(b) and this Court's decisions in Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322 (2003), Barefoot v. Estelle, 463 U.S.…
22-6506 Andrew Simpson v. Carl Davis, dba Davis Construction Co., et al. Eighth Circuit 2023-01-10 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 28-usc-1915 civil-rights court-appointed-counsel due-process exceptional-circumstances informa-pauperis legal-representation mental-illness pro-se-litigant When acting under 28 USC 1915 Informa paupers, do a mental illness qualify as a 'exceptional circumstance' for appointment of council? Do a mentally i…
22-6404 Paul Rivera v. United States Second Circuit 2022-12-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP competency constitutional-rights fair-trial indiana-v-edwards mental-illness pro-se-representation self-representation trial-competency Whether a defendant's constitutional right to a fair trial imposes upon trial courts a duty of inquiry to determine whether a defendant is competent t…
22-6268 David Miller, Jr. v. Ricky D. Dixon, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2022-12-09 Denied IFP certificate-of-appealability due-process equitable-tolling habeas-corpus mental-illness statute-of-limitations Whether the Eleventh Circuit denied the petitioner due process by denying a certificate of appealability on alternative procedural grounds not conside…
22-6096 Gary Eye v. United States Eighth Circuit 2022-11-18 Denied IFP 8th-amendment capital-punishment civil-rights competency due-process mental-illness Whether the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits the execution of a prisoner who has a severe mental illness that …
22-5872 In Re Benjamin Cole 2022-10-20 Denied IFP competency death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment execution-protocol fourteenth-amendment habeas-corpus mental-competency mental-illness original-jurisdiction Whether a prisoner who is incompetent to be executed can be executed under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments
22-5814 Christopher Allan Allred v. Washington Washington 2022-10-12 Denied Relisted (2)IFP constitutional-rights criminal-procedure critical-stage cruel-and-unusual-punishment death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment execution mental-illness rational-understanding right-to-counsel sixth-amendment Whether the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits the execution of a prisoner who has a severe mental illness that …
21-7829 Clarence Wayne Dixon v. David Shinn, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry Ninth Circuit 2022-05-11 Denied IFP 8th-amendment competency-to-be-executed eighth-amendment execution-standard mental-competency mental-illness non-bizarre-delusions panetti-precedent panetti-v-quarterman schizophrenia Does Panetti v. Quarterman foreclose a schizophrenic prisoner from demonstrating that non-bizarre delusions obstruct his rational understanding of the…
21-7660 Scott McLaughlin v. Anne L. Precythe, Director, Missouri Department of Corrections Eighth Circuit 2022-04-20 Denied IFP capital-habeas cumulative-errors expert-witness ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-illness opening-statement prejudice-analysis sixth-amendment strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Whether a reviewing court should consider the cumulative effect of multiple errors by trial counsel in assessing Strickland deficiency and prejudice
21-7234 Dylann Storm Roof v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-03-01 Denied IFP 6th-amendment capital-defendant constitutional-rights counsel counsel-authority defense-strategy due-process mental-health-mitigation mental-illness mitigating-evidence trial-procedure When a competent capital defendant and his counsel disagree on whether to present mitigating evidence depicting him as mentally ill, who gets the fina…
21-6711 Darius Smith v. United States District of Columbia 2021-12-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP competency due-process effective-assistance guilty-plea ineffective-assistance-of-counsel intellectual-disabilities intellectual-disability mental-competency mental-illness plea-proceeding sixth-amendment Whether Petitioner's Fifth Amendment right to Due Process was violated
21-6393 Michael Lawrence Woodbury v. Florida Florida 2021-11-23 Denied IFP competency-standard due-process fourteenth-amendment indiana-v-edwards mental-illness self-representation sixth-amendment Whether the Florida Supreme Court correctly held that the trial court's inquiry and determination under the lower standard of competency to waive coun…
21-6372 James Michael Bartley v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-11-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP 2nd-amendment civil-rights competency-proceeding constitutional-challenge due-process gun-rights judicial-review mental-competency mental-illness right-to-bear-arms second-amendment standing Whether the government may deny a law-abiding citizen their right to bear arms under the Second Amendment based solely on a competency proceeding that…
21-5983 Jennifer L. Kammerer v. State Bar of California California 2021-10-15 Denied IFP administrative-law americans-with-disabilities-act disability-rights discrimination equal-protection mental-illness mental-illness-discrimination professional-license professional-licensing rehabilitation-program Does the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibit punishing an individual for being mentally ill by revoking their professional license and denying th…
21-5965 In Re Jennifer L. Kammerer 2021-10-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP americans-with-disabilities-act disability-discrimination disciplinary-program disparate-treatment equal-protection license-revocation mental-illness professional-license professional-licensing Does it violate the Americans with Disabilities Act to punish an individual for being mentally ill by summarily revoking their professional license an…
21-5951 Steven B. Baumgarten v. Erika Evans Washington 2021-10-13 Denied Relisted (2)IFP civil-rights constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process excessive-punishment judicial-disqualification mental-illness mental-illness-discrimination perjury-allegations stalking stalking-evidence standing Is the U.S. Constitution and federal case law violated when a trial court erred in finding substantial evidence of two or more distinct, individual, n…
21-5572 Kamau Alan Israel v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-09-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP competency competency-hearing ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel insanity-defense mental-illness plea-bargain sentencing sentencing-guidelines strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Whether counsel for a person suffering severe mental illness throughout his entire life should have taken minimal steps to investigate his mental illn…
20-7479 Benjamin Velayo v. Cheryl Fox, et al. Tenth Circuit 2021-03-17 Denied IFP cruel-and-unusual-punishment death-penalty eighth-amendment mental-illness rational-understanding reasons-for-execution Whether the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits the execution of a prisoner who has a severe mental illness that …
20-1155 Jonas David Nelson v. Minnesota Minnesota 2021-02-23 Denied Amici (2)Response Waived cognitive-deficits cruel-and-unusual-punishment eighth-amendment juvenile-offenders juvenile-sentencing life-sentence life-without-parole mental-illness proportionality proportionality-review Whether the Eighth Amendment right to narrow proportionality review of sentences of life without release entails a right to a hearing at which evidenc…
20-6822 Rodney Berryman, Sr. v. Ron Davis, Warden Ninth Circuit 2021-01-11 Denied IFP 28-usc-2254 criminal-procedure federal-law habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-illness mitigation-evidence neuro-psychiatric-testing Was the state court's denial of Petitioner's claims contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law?
20-6629 Jane Doe v. Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, et al. Sixth Circuit 2020-12-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP administrative-cases anonymity constitutional-rights court-cases disability-rights due-process government-defendant mental-illness name-redaction statutory-rights Should mentally ill individuals be automatically granted name redaction in administrative and court cases?
20-668 Nina Allison v. Robert Dar-Teh Liou, et al. California 2020-11-16 Denied accommodations americans-with-disabilities-act attorney-disability civil-rights due-process judicial-procedure legal-accommodation legal-profession mental-health mental-illness post-traumatic-stress-disorder Whether the Americans with Disabilities Act requires courts to provide accommodations for undiagnosed mental disabilities of attorneys?
20-6246 Adam Joseph Bogema v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-11-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553 advisory-guidelines appellate-review criminal-sentencing mental-illness sentencing-guidelines standard-of-review statutory-interpretation substantive-reasonableness unwarranted-disparity Whether this Court should provide some guidance to the appellate courts on the proper evaluation of a within guidelines sentence vis-a-vis 18 U.S.C. §…
20-5719 Efrain Camarill Cruz v. Mark S. Inch, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2020-09-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP certificate-of-appealability double-jeopardy federal-jurisdiction guilty-plea habeas habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance mental-illness plea-bargaining Whether the court of appeals improperly denied the Petitioner a certificate of appealability
20-5716 James Ziegenfuss v. Anthony Mackey, et al. Arizona 2020-09-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP 8th-amendment capital-punishment civil-rights competency due-process mental-illness Whether the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits the execution of a prisoner who has been diagnosed with a severe …
20-229 Michael Woolen v. California California 2020-08-26 Denied 14th-amendment 6th-amendment civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process free-speech habeas-corpus judicial-error mental-illness prosecutorial-misconduct Whether petitioner, 1 of 60 million Americans with mental illness, was deprived of Bill of Rights protections of Amendment 1, V, VI-IX and XIV
20-36 Michael J. McGowan v. United States Second Circuit 2020-07-17 Denied Response Waived certificate-of-appealability due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-illness pro-se Whether Petitioner demonstrated the requisite 'diligence' and 'extraordinary circumstances' to warrant equitable tolling
19-8728 Joshua Harrell v. California California 2020-06-17 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP cruel-and-unusual-punishment death-penalty eighth-amendment habeas-corpus mental-illness rational-understanding Whether the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits the execution of a prisoner who has a severe mental illness that …
19-8550 Wayne Carl Nicolaison v. Minnesota Minnesota 2020-05-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-commitment due-process equal-protection Foucha-v-Louisiana liberty mental-illness Whether civil commitment can be continued based on a 'fictional future behavior/crime' in violation of Foucha v. Louisiana
19-8357 Jeffery J. Lout v. Montana Montana 2020-04-27 Denied Relisted (2)IFP 8th-amendment civil-rights constitutional-claims death-penalty due-process ex-post-facto intellectual-disability mental-illness procedural-challenges psychological-evaluation sentencing Whether the Montana Supreme Court violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment by failing to address Louis's claims of …
19-1099 City of Bakersfield, California, et al. v. Leslie Laray Crawford Ninth Circuit 2020-03-09 Denied Response RequestedRelisted (2) 4th-amendment civil-rights due-process excessive-force fourth-amendment mental-illness negligence objective-reasonableness police-procedure prior-knowledge reasonable-officer use-of-force Did the Ninth Circuit err when it held that evidence of prior incidents which indicate that an individual may be mentally ill could be introduced for …
19-7501 Steven Livaditis v. Ron Davis, Warden Ninth Circuit 2020-02-03 Denied IFP 28-usc-2254 abusive-conduct constitutional-claim federal-review habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-illness mental-impairments mitigating-evidence penalty-phase reasonable-probability Was the state court's summary denial of Petitioner's claims, alleging defense counsel's failure to present any penalty phase evidence of (i) Petitione…
19-7398 Andrew James Gibbons v. Nate Knutson, Warden Eighth Circuit 2020-01-24 Denied IFP guilty-plea habeas-corpus habeas-review ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel knaffla-bar mental-illness mental-illness-defense Opsahi-rule procedural-default Spears-rule state-procedural-rule Is petitioner (Gibbons) procedurally defaulted on his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to investigate a mental illness defense?
19-707 Irma Rosas v. San Antonio Housing Authority, et al. Fifth Circuit 2019-12-04 Denied civil-procedure civil-rights due-process equitable-tolling erickson-precedent magistrate-transfer mental-illness pro-se pro-se-plaintiff standing tolling twombly-standard Whether the lower court erred in applying Twombly to pro-se plaintiff's complaint when Erickson controlled
19-6823 Michael Dean Gonzales v. Lorie Davis, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2019-12-04 Denied Relisted (2)IFP brain-dysfunction certificate-of-appealability competency-to-stand-trial criminal-procedure drope-v-missouri due-process habeas-corpus mental-competency mental-illness pate-v-robinson procedural-bar state-waiver Whether the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals's waiver bar is an independent and adequate state procedural ground that forecloses federal habeas review
19-514 Nikko A. Jenkins v. Nebraska Nebraska 2019-10-21 Denied Amici (3)Relisted (3) capital-sentencing death-penalty eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment mental-health mental-illness mitigating-evidence sixth-amendment solitary-confinement Whether the sentencing court violated the requirement of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment that capital sentencers give meaningful consideration and…
19-6270 Darren Paul Odell v. Minnesota Minnesota 2019-10-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process expert-witness ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel interests-of-justice mental-illness newly-discovered-evidence post-conviction-relief professional-ethics prosecutorial-misconduct standing time-bar-exception Whether the Minnesota courts erred in denying Mr. Odell's post-conviction relief petition based on damaging letters from the state's expert witness, v…
19-6173 In Re Karl David Kretser, Jr. 2019-10-04 Denied IFP civil-commitment competent-tribunal constitutional-rights due-process judicial-incompetence mental-illness tanner-v-united-states trial-judge wernicke-korsakoff-syndrome Can a conviction stand when the trial judge was civilly committed and later determined to be suffering from Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome?
19-6152 Marian Papacsi Owens v. Sue Mickens, Warden, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2019-10-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP certificate-of-appealability criminal-defense criminal-procedure effective-assistance-of-counsel habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel judicial-discretion mental-illness right-to-counsel right-to-testify trial-counsel trial-judge trial-procedure Whether the trial court's refusal to allow the defendant to testify by narrative violated her right to effective assistance of counsel
19-6125 Francis G. Hernandez v. Ronald Davis, Warden Ninth Circuit 2019-10-02 Denied IFP appellate-review child-abuse criminal-procedure diminished-capacity habeas-corpus head-injuries ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-illness ninth-circuit prejudice-analysis strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Was counsel's failure to investigate and present a diminished capacity defense prejudicial under Strickland v. Washington?
19-5839 Randall Wayne Mays v. Texas Texas 2019-09-05 Denied IFP competency cruel-and-unusual-punishment death-penalty delusions due-process eighth-amendment ford-hearing junk-science lay-stereotypes mental-competency mental-illness panetti-v-quarterman Whether a state court may rely on junk science and lay stereotypes of the severely mentally ill to adjudicate a Ford claim
19-5717 Ronnie C. Brown v. Jeff Macomber, Warden, et al. Ninth Circuit 2019-08-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-procedure due-process equitable-tolling evidentiary-hearing habeas-corpus judicial-discretion mental-capacity mental-illness pro-se pro-se-petition Is equitable tolling available for a late-filed pro se habeas petition due to mental illness?
19-5568 Keith D. Nelson v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-08-13 Denied IFP brain-damage capital-sentencing certificate-of-appealability childhood-abuse childhood-sexual-abuse ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel life-sentence mental-illness mitigating-evidence prejudice-analysis strickland-prejudice strickland-prejudice-standard strickland-standard Does it violate the Strickland prejudice standard to conclude that never before presented evidence of brain damage, severe mental illness, and childho…
19-5191 Kenneth Byron Davenport v. Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 2019-07-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP age-determination criminal-procedure individualized-sentencing juvenile-offenders juvenile-sentencing mental-disability mental-health mental-health-and-mental-retardation-act mental-illness miller-v-alabama post-conviction-relief post-conviction-relief-act schizophrenia Does the legal 'right' recognized in Miller v. Alabama include all substantive components necessary to its creation, including the well-established ra…
19-5054 Jason Hendershott v. Kelly Strong, Warden, et al. Fifth Circuit 2019-07-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP access-to-courts appeal civil-procedure civil-rights constitutional-claims criminal-case criminal-procedure due-process federal-circuit-court habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel judicial-review mental-illness post-conviction Whether Hendershott was improperly denied time-credit for turning in his 2854 year old prison authorities to mail months before his deadline
18-1572 Matthew D. Priset v. Pennsylvania Third Circuit 2019-06-25 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) 8th-amendment constitutional-law criminal-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment life-sentence mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimum-sentence mental-illness sentencing Does a mandatory minimum life sentence for one convicted under the guilty-but-mentally-ill designation constitute cruel and unusual punishment?
18-9742 Mikle Anthony Butler v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-06-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process evidence-evaluation ineffective-assistance-of-counsel ineffective-counsel judicial-discretion mental-health mental-illness sentencing sentencing-guidelines Issues being raised
18-9556 Charles R. Willard v. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Ninth Circuit 2019-06-05 Denied IFP certificate-of-appealability inconsistent-testimony ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-health mental-illness prejudice prior-convictions prosecutorial-misconduct sentencing sentencing-mitigation trial-counsel witness-credibility witness-impeachment Is the low threshold for a certificate of appealability (COA) met on a claim that trial counsel provided prejudicially deficient performance when coun…
18-9356 Robert Joe Long v. Mark S. Inch, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections Florida 2019-05-20 Denied IFP constitutional-rights cruel-and-unusual-punishment death-penalty double-jeopardy due-process eighth-amendment eighth-amendment-jurisprudence evolving-standards-of-decency mental-illness Whether an individual who suffers from severe mental illness is exempt from execution under the Eighth Amendment and the evolving standards of decency…
18-8723 Miles Sterling Bench v. Oklahoma Oklahoma 2019-04-08 Denied IFP 8th-amendment affidavit civil-rights competency costs criminal-appeals death-penalty declaration due-process filing-fees in-forma-pauperis indigent indigent-status mental-illness oklahoma-law supreme-court-procedure writ-of-certiorari Whether the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits the execution of a person with severe mental illness
18-8386 Michael Apelt v. Charles L. Ryan, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections Ninth Circuit 2019-03-12 Denied Amici (1)IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing evidentiary-hearing fact-finding federal-habeas federal-habeas-corpus habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-illness mental-impairment prejudice strickland-standard strickland-v-washington When determining if a capital defendant was prejudiced by counsel's deficient performance during state sentencing, whether the federal court may bypas…
18-8233 Calvin J. Reid v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-03-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP §2255-motion 18-usc-4241 certificate-of-appealability circuit-split competency-hearing criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-appeal due-process ineffective-assistance mental-competency mental-illness right-to-counsel standards-of-review Whether the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has misapplied the standards set forth in Miller-El v. Cockrell and Buck v. Davis
18-7620 Emmanuel Adeyinka v. Harris County Jail, et al. Fifth Circuit 2019-01-31 Denied IFP civil-procedure civil-rights competency criminal-conviction cruel-and-unusual-punishment death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment eleventh-amendment immunity mental-illness monetary-damages personal-involvement rational-understanding section-1983 standing Whether the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits the execution of a prisoner who has a severe mental illness that …
18-6916 Troy Lincoln Powell v. California California 2018-12-04 Denied IFP constitutional-rights criminal-sentencing death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment fifth-amendment fourteenth-amendment mental-illness sixth-amendment Does the imposition of the death penalty on a severely mentally ill defendant violate the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments?
18-6883 Stan J. Caterbone v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-11-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights congressional-hearings constitutional-rights due-process government-conspiracy government-experimentation government-oversight mental-illness military-training mind-control whistle-blowing Did the United States of America err in not granting a juris prudential exception
18-672 City of Newport Beach, California, et al. v. Richard Vos, et al. Ninth Circuit 2018-11-23 Denied Amici (1)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (6) ada-title-ii americans-with-disabilities-act fourth-amendment law-enforcement mental-illness totality-of-the-circumstances use-of-force Does Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act require law enforcement officers to provide accommodations to an armed, violent, and mentally ill…
18-6450 Justen Russell v. LaShann Eppinger, Warden Sixth Circuit 2018-10-26 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3)IFP 28-usc-2244 aedpa aedpa-limitations appeal appellate-rights diligence due-process equitable-tolling habeas-corpus mental-health-confinement mental-illness right-to-appeal state-created-impediment Does the complete failure by court and counsel to advise a defendant of his right to appeal and the time period in which to do so constitute a 'state-…
18-6093 Brian Tate v. Maryland Maryland 2018-09-26 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP constitutional-rights developmental-capacity diminished-capacity due-process fifth-amendment fourteenth-amendment guilty-plea juvenile-defendant juvenile-justice maryland-rule-4-242(c) mental-illness Whether the Due Process Clause requires a state court to conduct an inquiry on the record into the effects of a juvenile defendant's age, mental healt…
18-6045 Corey Levon Beckham v. Darrell Miller, Warden Fourth Circuit 2018-09-19 Denied IFP drug-abuse equal-protection fourth-amendment habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance mental-illness sixth-amendment strickland-v-washington unprofessional-conduct Did the Fourth Circuit err in holding that the District Court failed to accept the showing of the two-prong test in Strickland v. Washington on counse…
18-5787 Danyale Sharron Tubbs v. Michigan Michigan 2018-08-28 Denied IFP competency competency-defense due-process ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-competency mental-illness plain-error procedural-default sentencing sentencing-error strickland-standard Was Michigan's application of Strickland v. Washington unreasonable?
18-5634 Kipland Phillip Kinkel v. Garrett Laney, Superintendent, Oregon State Correctional Institution Oregon 2018-08-17 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP eighth-amendment juvenile-sentencing life-without-parole mental-illness miller-montgomery-standard miller-v-alabama montgomery-v-louisiana procedural-due-process Does a treatable, but not curable, mental illness constitute irreparable corruption' under Miller v. Alabama and Montgomery v. Louisiana?
18-5569 Sean Weisner v. Lorie Davis, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2018-08-13 Denied Relisted (2)IFP 28-usc-2244 circuit-split civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process federal-habeas federal-statute habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mandate-rule mental-illness standing time-bar Whether the classification made by the Fifth Circuit Court in Colley v. Sattizahn, 130 F.3d 496 (5th Cir. 1997) constitutes a violation of clearly est…
18-5495 In Re Billy Ray Irick 2018-08-07 Denied Amici (1)IFP cruel-and-unusual-punishment cruel-unusual-punishment death-penalty eighth-amendment evolving-standards-of-decency fourteenth-amendment mental-illness personal-culpability sentencing Whether the imposition of the death penalty on a person who was severely mentally ill at the time of the offense constitutes cruel and unusual punishm…
18-5137 Maurice Daniel v. Brooklyn Law School New York 2018-07-05 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP abuse-of-authority academic-due-process academic-performance americans-with-disabilities-act americans-with-disabilities-act-title-ii americans-with-disabilities-act-title-iii discrimination discriminatory-punishment due-process educational-discrimination mental-health mental-illness new-york-city-human-rights-law new-york-city-human-rights-law-section-8-107(4)(a) title-ii title-iii Whether an academic dean's decision to bar a student from taking makeup exams and kick him out of school due to a mistaken belief that the student was…
24A592 Tahina Corcoran, as next friend on behalf of Joseph E. Corcoran v. Ron Neal, Warden Seventh Circuit Denied competency death-penalty eighth-amendment execution-stay mental-illness schizophrenia Whether the Eighth Amendment prohibits the execution of a defendant with severe, untreated paranoid schizophrenia who was deemed incompetent to assist…
24A284 Freddie Owens v. Bryan Stirling, et al. Fourth Circuit Denied capital-punishment competency cruel-and-unusual death-penalty eighth-amendment mental-illness Whether the Eighth Amendment prohibits the execution of a death row inmate with a documented history of severe mental illness that substantially impai…