mitigation-evidence

45 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-5153 Steven Catlin v. Edward J. Silva, Acting Warden Ninth Circuit 2025-07-21 Denied IFP death-penalty federal-review habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance mitigation-evidence voir-dire Was the state court's summary denial of Petitioner's habeas claims alleging defense counsel's failure to investigate, develop and present available ev…
24-695 Bill Cool, Warden v. Nathaniel Jackson Sixth Circuit 2024-12-30 Denied criminal-procedure death-penalty lockett-precedent mitigation-evidence remand sentencing-review Whether state courts must reopen mitigation evidence in every death-penalty remand when the original error did not affect the defendant's opportunity …
24-6038 Robert Wharton v. Joseph Terra, Superintendent, State Correctional Institution at Phoenix Third Circuit 2024-11-26 Denied Amici (1)IFP capital-case harmless-error juror-prejudice mitigation-evidence strickland-prejudice wiggins-standard How should the 'one juror' standard of prejudice set forth in Wiggins v. Smith be applied where mitigation evidence would have led to both positive an…
24-581 Utah v. Douglas A. Lovell Utah 2024-11-26 Denied Relisted (2) aggravating-factors criminal-sentencing death-penalty ineffective-assistance-counsel mitigation-evidence strickland-standard Did the Utah Supreme Court violate binding case law by improperly assessing Strickland deficient performance and prejudice in a death penalty case inv…
24-5347 Devin Allen Bennett v. Mississippi Mississippi 2024-08-20 Denied IFP death-penalty eighth-amendment ineffective-assistance mitigation-evidence sixth-amendment strickland-standard Whether trial counsel's failure to investigate, uncover, and present evidence of defendant's reduced moral culpability may be categorically discounted…
23A1151 Devin Allen Bennett v. Mississippi Mississippi 2024-06-25 Presumed Complete capital-sentencing double-edged-sword ineffective-assistance mitigation-evidence sixth-amendment strickland-standard Whether a state court's rejection of an ineffective assistance of counsel claim based on a hypothetical 'residual doubt' strategy and potential 'doubl…
23-6888 Darrell Wayne Frederick v. Christe Quick, Warden Tenth Circuit 2024-03-04 Denied IFP aspd brain-damage capital-punishment capital-sentencing ineffective-assistance-counsel ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence prejudice prejudice-review strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Whether the Tenth Circuit contravened Strickland v. Washington by not considering the totality of the mitigating evidence in its prejudice review
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…
23-5851 Hector Sanchez-Torres v. Florida Florida 2023-10-20 Denied IFP appellate-review criminal-sentencing culpability death-penalty eighth-amendment equal-protection mitigation-evidence Whether sentencing a 19-year-old codefendant to death violates the Eighth Amendment or Equal Protection Clause when his similarly culpable 17-year-old…
23-5375 Isidro Miguel Delacruz v. Texas Texas 2023-08-17 Denied IFP 8th-amendment capital-sentencing constitutional-proportionality death-penalty due-process jury-instructions mitigation-evidence moral-culpability Can the Texas death penalty statute be reconciled with this Court's long-established mitigation jurisprudence?
23A129 Cuhuatemoc Peraita v. Alabama Alabama 2023-08-16 Presumed Complete capital-punishment extraneous-prejudicial-information jury-impartiality mitigation-evidence sixth-amendment waiver-of-rights Whether a capital defendant's waiver of mitigation evidence is knowing and voluntary under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments when the defendant suff…
22-7809 Brandy Bain Jennings v. Ricky D. Dixon, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections Eleventh Circuit 2023-06-16 Denied IFP constitutional-rights due-process effective-assistance-of-counsel habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance mitigation-evidence postconviction-proceedings postconviction-relief sixth-amendment strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Whether the Eleventh Circuit's analysis of ineffective assistance of counsel claims fails to protect the Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance…
22-7134 Christopher L. Whitaker v. Ohio Ohio 2023-03-28 Denied IFP 14th-amendment 5th-amendment 6th-amendment 8th-amendment capital-defendant capital-punishment eighth-amendment fifth-amendment fourteenth-amendment mitigation-evidence self-incrimination sixth-amendment Is a capital defendant's offer to plead guilty and waive all post-trial procedures in exchange for a life sentence admissible as mitigating evidence?
21-7794 Paul C. Bolin v. Ron Broomfield, Warden Ninth Circuit 2022-05-06 Denied IFP aggravating-factors capital-punishment habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance jury-discretion mitigation mitigation-evidence prejudice-analysis prejudice-standard strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Whether a state or federal habeas court may reasonably conclude that a crime is so aggravated that no mitigation could persuade even one juror to vote…
21-7778 Lester Ochoa v. Ron Davis, Warden Ninth Circuit 2022-05-04 Denied IFP capital-punishment cruel-and-unusual-punishment cullen-v-pinholster eighth-amendment family-sympathy jury-instructions mitigation mitigation-evidence Whether a State court may prohibit jurors from considering sympathy for a defendant's family in the penalty phase of a capital case as mitigation
21-7542 Carman Deck v. Paul Blair, Warden Missouri 2022-04-05 Denied IFP capital-sentencing constitutional-rights delay-in-sentencing due-process fair-trial fundamental-fairness mitigation-evidence right-to-present-evidence sentencing-delay Whether the inordinate delay between the defendant's conviction and capital sentencing proceedings prejudiced the defendant's ability to present mitig…
21-7061 John Lezell Balentine v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2022-02-04 Denied IFP capital-defendant capital-sentencing circuit-split due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence schriro-v-landrigan sentencing trial-counsel Under Schriro v. Landrigan, does a capital defendant forfeit his right to allege trial counsel's ineffectiveness for failing to adequately investigate…
21-6846 Juan Jose Reynoso v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2022-01-13 Denied IFP certificate-of-appealability fifth-circuit habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel judicial-review mitigation-evidence prejudice sixth-circuit supervisory-power tenth-circuit trial-counsel Whether the Fifth Circuit has departed from the accepted course of judicial proceedings
21-6822 James Edward Barber v. John Q. Hamm, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections Eleventh Circuit 2022-01-12 Denied IFP aggravating-evidence capital-sentencing ineffective-assistance-of-counsel jury-instructions mental-health-evidence mitigation-evidence prejudice prejudice-standard split-verdict What is the proper legal standard for assessing the prejudice resulting from deficient assistance of counsel in capital sentencing proceedings, partic…
21-938 Bryan P. Stirling, Director, South Carolina Department of Corrections, et al. v. Sammie Louis Stokes Fourth Circuit 2021-12-23 GVR Relisted (2) capital-punishment fourth-circuit habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence prejudice-analysis procedural-default strategic-decision strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Whether the Fourth Circuit violated Strickland v. Washington in its prejudice analysis
21-5753 James Allyson Lee v. Benjamin Ford, Warden Eleventh Circuit 2021-09-22 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing childhood-trauma habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence post-conviction-relief ptsd ptsd-evidence strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Whether new mitigating evidence of a capital defendant's horrific childhood abuse and PTSD diagnosis can be considered cumulative and inconsequential …
20-8462 Roderick Napoleon Harris v. Texas Texas 2021-06-30 Denied IFP -habeas-corpus -ineffective-assistance -prejudice-standard -professional-norms -sixth-amendment #NAME? capital-case mitigation-evidence prejudice professional-standards sixth-amendment strickland-v-washington Whether a habeas court must articulate and apply prevailing professional norms to determine ineffective-assistance-of-counsel
20-7988 Robert Allen Poyson v. Arizona Arizona 2021-05-11 Denied IFP aggravating-factors capital-sentencing causal-nexus constitutional-review death-penalty eighth-amendment individualized-sentencing mitigation-evidence non-statutory-mitigation Is the individualized capital sentencing requirement guaranteed by the Eighth Amendment violated when a State predetermines that in all cases only min…
20-7813 Richard Allen Benson v. Kevin Chappell, Warden Ninth Circuit 2021-04-21 Dismissed IFP aedpa aedpa-standard capital-case capital-punishment due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance mitigation-evidence prima-facie state-law When a federal habeas court examines for reasonableness a silent state court habeas denial pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) (AEDPA) and Harrington v. R…
20-1302 Casey A. McWhorter v. Jefferson S. Dunn, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2021-03-19 Denied 28-U.S.C-2254(d)(2) constitutional-rights criminal-defendant death-penalty-mitigation effective-assistance-of-counsel federal-review habeas-corpus impartial-jury ineffective-assistance jury-bias McDonough-Power-Equipment-v-Greenwood mitigation-evidence Whether a federal court violates 28-U.S.C-2254(d)(2) in determining state court's factual findings
20-1306 Alan Dale Walker v. Mississippi Mississippi 2021-03-19 Denied capital-case capital-punishment ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel investigation mitigation-evidence psychological-trauma sixth-amendment tactical-decisions trial-counsel Did the Mississippi Supreme Court fail to adhere to this Court's Sixth Amendment jurisprudence requiring counsel in a capital case to conduct a thorou…
20-1125 Antonio Devoe Jones v. Alabama Alabama 2021-02-17 Denied 6th-amendment alabama-law constitutional-rights criminal-procedure death-penalty due-process ineffective-assistance mitigation-evidence mitigation-investigation Was Petitioner deprived of his constitutional right to effective counsel?
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?
20-6786 Erica Yvonne Sheppard v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2021-01-05 Denied Amici (2)Relisted (2)IFP 28-usc-2254 batson-challenge batson-v-kentucky fifth-circuit habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel jury-selection mitigation-evidence section-2254 wilson-v-sellers Whether the Fifth Circuit's application of 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) survives Wilson v. Sellers and whether the court must consider the impact of all mitiga…
20-6772 Christopher J. Spreitz v. David Shinn, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry Ninth Circuit 2021-01-05 Denied IFP cognitive-impairment ineffective-assistance martinez-rule martinez-v-ryan mitigation-evidence post-conviction-relief procedural-default statutory-mitigating-factor trial-counsel When must the court of appeals remand to a court of first instance for application of this Court's intervening decision in Martinez v. Ryan, 566 U.S. …
20-708 Joe Nathan James v. Terry Raybon, Warden, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2020-11-23 Denied 28-U.S.C.-2254-d appellate-review evidentiary-hearing habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mental-health mental-health-evidence mitigation-evidence post-conviction-review strickland-standard Whether the Court of Appeals failed to follow the review requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) and the case law produced surrounding Strickland-v-Washin…
20-6383 Vincent McFadden v. Missouri Missouri 2020-11-19 Denied IFP fourteenth-amendment ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence prejudice-assessment rompilla sixth-amendment strickland-standard wiggins williams Whether the Missouri Supreme Court's application of Strickland violated the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments
20-6166 Brad Keith Sigmon v. Bryan Stirling, Commissioner, South Carolina Department of Corrections, et al. Fourth Circuit 2020-10-29 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing cumulative-evidence evidentiary-hearing ineffective-assistance-of-counsel martinez-claim martinez-v-ryan mitigation-evidence sixth-amendment Whether the Fourth Circuit violated this Court's directives on the Sixth Amendment's right to effective counsel when it rejected Sigmon's Martinez evi…
20-5378 James Lynn Styers v. David Shinn, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections Ninth Circuit 2020-08-17 Denied IFP capital-case certificate-of-appealability collateral-review eddings-standard eddings-v-oklahoma habeas-corpus mitigation-evidence ninth-circuit second-or-successive-petition Whether the Arizona Supreme Court is required to consider all available mitigation evidence during reweighing on collateral review to correct an Eddin…
20-5263 Patrick W. Schroeder v. Nebraska Nebraska 2020-08-05 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-sentencing death-penalty eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment mitigation mitigation-evidence pro-se pro-se-representation proportionality sentencing Whether the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments are violated when a capital sentencing panel issues a death sentence despite the defendant's refusal to i…
19-8921 Zane Floyd v. William Gittere, Warden, et al. Ninth Circuit 2020-07-08 Denied Amici (1)IFP aedpa brain-damage capital-case fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence ninth-circuit-rule strickland-prejudice strickland-standard May a court assessing Strickland prejudice dismiss the significance of evidence of brain damage, on the ground that it makes only a 'limited additiona…
19-8272 Nicholas Cody Tate v. Benjamin Ford, Warden Georgia 2020-04-16 Denied IFP aedpa aedpa-review capital-sentencing habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence schriro-v-landrigan strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Whether the Georgia Supreme Court's opinion reversing the state habeas corpus court's reasoned grant of relief based on capital sentencing counsel's p…
19-1054 Christa Gail Pike v. Gloria Gross, Warden Sixth Circuit 2020-02-25 Denied Amici (1) cumulative-evidence death-penalty eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation-evidence prejudice strickland-standard strickland-v-washington Whether a defendant who asserts that trial counsel failed to present key evidence is precluded from showing prejudice under Strickland v. Washington
19-7647 William P. Castillo v. Nevada Nevada 2020-02-12 Denied Amici (1)IFP aggravating-factors appellate-review apprendi apprendi-line capital-punishment capital-sentencing clemons-v-mississippi death-penalty jury-instructions mitigating-circumstances mitigating-evidence mitigation-evidence reweighing Should this Court overrule Clemons v. Mississippi
19-569 Carlos Manuel Ayestas v. Lorie Davis, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2019-10-30 Denied capital-case capital-case-mitigation-evidence ineffective-assistance mental-health mitigation-evidence mitigation-investigation professional-norms rompilla-v-beard sixth-amendment strickland-v-washington substance-abuse wiggins-v-smith Whether 'prevailing professional norms' required counsel in a capital case to investigate potential mitigation evidence, including red flags for menta…
18-1551 Joseph Q. Mirarchi v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel Pennsylvania 2019-06-19 Denied Response Waived attorney-disbarment constitutional-rights disbarment due-process due-process-clause effective-assistance-of-counsel expert-witness-testimony fourteenth-amendment ineffective-assistance-of-counsel medical-evidence mitigation-evidence neuropsychological-evidence sixth-amendment Whether the state supreme court order for attorney disbarment is inconsistent with the standards set forth in Selling v. Radford and In re Ruffalo, an…
18-9564 Brian Suniga v. Texas Texas 2019-06-06 Denied IFP death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment jury-instructions mitigation-evidence moral-blameworthiness tennard-v-dretke tex-code-crim-proc-art-37-071-section-2-f-4 Whether the Texas death penalty statute, which limits the scope of mitigating evidence to that which reduces the defendant's 'moral blameworthiness,' …
18-8057 Duane Allen Short v. Ohio Ohio 2019-02-21 Denied IFP capital-defense capital-punishment death-penalty death-row effective-assistance-of-counsel ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mitigation mitigation-evidence plea-bargaining sixth-amendment Whether a capital defendant's Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel is violated where, but for counsel's intervention and unfou…
18-8016 James Goff v. Ohio Ohio 2019-02-19 Denied IFP capital-punishment death-penalty hurst-v-florida judicial-fact-finding jury-trial mitigation-evidence resentencing sentencing sixth-amendment Is a trial judge's independent weighing of new mitigation evidence and imposition of the death penalty at a resentencing hearing unconstitutional unde…
18-5271 Roger W. Murray v. Charles L. Ryan, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections Ninth Circuit 2018-07-18 Denied Relisted (2)IFP batson batson-challenge Batson-v-Kentucky civil-rights constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process equal-protection jury-selection mitigation-evidence ninth-circuit racial-discrimination voir-dire Whether the Arizona courts unreasonably applied Batson v. Kentucky and unreasonably determined the constitutionally significant facts, thus violating …