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Robert Leroy McCoy v. Louisiana

IFP petition · Supreme Court of Louisiana, No. 2014-KA-1449 · judgment October 19, 2016

Decided · May 14, 2018

Questions presented

Is it unconstitutional for defense counsel to concede an accused's guilt over the accused's express objection?
Whether Louisiana's rule, that a prosecutor's strike of an African American juror is irrelevant to the prosecutor's strikes of other African-American jurors if the defense simultaneously struck the same juror, violates this Court's holding in Foster, Miller-El and Batson requiring consideration of all relevant circumstances? LIMITED TO QUESTION 1 PRESENTED BY THE PETITION.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Seth P. Waxman
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP

For respondent
John Michael Lawrence
Office of the District Attorney

Case

Subject area
Criminal Procedure (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Amicus briefs
2 cert-stage · 6 merits
(5 supporting pet./neither, 1 respondent)

Argument & decision

Argued January 17, 2018 — Seth P. Waxman · Elizabeth Murrill. Listen and read along · the Court’s audio

Decided May 14, 2018. Opinion by Ginsburg.

Proceedings

Jun 20 2018
Record returned to the Supreme Court of Louisiana (6 boxes).
Jun 15 2018
JUDGMENT ISSUED.
Jun 15 2018
MANDATE ISSUED.
May 14 2018
Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Ginsburg, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Kennedy, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan, JJ., joined. Alito, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Thomas and Gorsuch, JJ., joined.
Jan 17 2018
Argued. For petitioner: Seth P. Waxman, Washington, D. C. For respondent: Elizabeth Murrill, Solicitor General of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, La.
Jan 05 2018
Reply of petitioner Robert L.McCoy filed. (Distributed)
Dec 20 2017
Brief amici curiae of States of Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming filed. (Distributed)
Dec 18 2017
Record requested from the Supreme Court of Louisiana.
Dec 13 2017
Brief of respondent Louisiana filed. (Distributed)
Nov 22 2017
CIRCULATED.
Nov 20 2017
Brief amicus curiae of The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed.
Nov 20 2017
Brief amici curiae of Ten Law School Professors and the Ethics Bureau at Yale filed. (Distributed)
Nov 20 2017
Brief amicus curiae of The Criminal Bar Association of England & Wales filed. (Distributed)
Nov 20 2017
Brief amicus curiae of American Bar Association filed. (Distributed)
Nov 17 2017
SET FOR ARGUMENT ON Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Nov 17 2017
Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed.
Nov 13 2017
Brief of petitioner Robert L.McCoy filed (to be corrected and reprinted).
Nov 13 2017
Joint appendix filed (2 volumes). (Statement of costs filed)
Nov 13 2017
Brief of petitioner Robert L. McCoy filed (Corrected brief received 1/10/18). (Distributed)
Sep 28 2017
Motion to proceed in forma pauperis and petition for a writ of certiorari GRANTED limited to Question 1 presented by the petition.
Jun 15 2017
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of September 25, 2017.
Jun 12 2017
Record received from the Supreme Court of Louisiana (6 boxes).
Apr 24 2017
Record Requested.
Apr 13 2017
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of April 28, 2017.
Apr 11 2017
Reply of petitioner Robert Leroy McCoy filed. (Distributed)
Apr 10 2017
Brief amicus curiae of The Ethics Bureau at Yale filed.
Apr 10 2017
Brief amici curiae of The Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, et al. filed.
Mar 24 2017
Brief of respondent Louisiana in opposition filed.
Mar 06 2017
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due April 10, 2017)