Two U.S. Supreme Court decisions about very different statutes, one in a criminal context and the other civil, show that the conservative majority of the current Court is aggressively closing the courthouse doors even when it requires a tortured reading of federal statutes to do so.
In Cullen v. Pinholster, 131 S. Ct. 1388 (2011), the Court significantly lessened the ability of federal courts to prevent injustices through the use of the writ of habeas corpus. Scott Lynn Pinholster was convicted of murder. His defense lawyers had not been notified that the prosecutor planned to present aggravating circumstances in a penalty phase and therefore did not prepare to present mitigating evidence. Nonetheless, the judge allowed the penalty phase to go forward, and the defense lawyers presented only one witness, Pinholster’s mother.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
