Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
David Shinn, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections v. George Russell Kayer
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 09-99027 · judgment May 13, 2019
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
Respondent George Russell Kayer sits on Arizona’s death row for shooting Delbert Haas twice in the head more than a quarter-century ago. The state post-conviction court denied on the merits Kayer’s claim that his attorneys ineffectively investigated and presented mitigation at sentencing. Subsequently, bound by the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), the district court denied habeas relief on that claim. App. 82– 185. A divided Ninth Circuit panel, however, reversed the district court, applying no meaningful deference to the state court’s decision. App. 2–81. Judge Carlos Bea then authored a twelve-judge dissent from the denial of en banc rehearing. App. 255–289. The Question Presented is as follows: Did the Ninth Circuit violate 28 U.S.C. § 2254’s deferential standard, and employ a flawed methodology this Court has repeatedly condemned, when it granted habeas relief based on a de novo finding that a Sixth Amendment violation had occurred?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Lacey Stover Gard
Office of the Attorney General
For respondent
Jean-Claude Andre
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
Proceedings
- Apr 05 2021Record returned to the U.S.C.A. 9th Circuit (3 boxes of state court records).
- Jan 15 2021JUDGMENT ISSUED.
- Dec 14 2020Petition GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Justice Breyer, Justice Sotomayor, and Justice Kagan dissent. Opinion per curiam. (Detached Opinion)
- Dec 07 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/11/2020.
- Nov 30 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/4/2020.
- Nov 16 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/20/2020.
- Nov 09 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/13/2020.
- Nov 02 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/6/2020.
- Oct 28 2020Record received from the U.S.C.A. 9th Circuit (3 boxes of state court records). The remaining record is available on PACER.
- Oct 26 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/30/2020.
- Oct 15 2020Record Requested.
- Oct 13 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/16/2020.
- Oct 05 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/9/2020.
- Sep 02 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/29/2020.
- Sep 02 2020Reply of petitioners David Shinn, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Aug 19 2020Brief of respondent George Kayer in opposition filed.
- Jul 14 2020Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including August 19, 2020.
- Jul 13 2020Motion to extend the time to file a response from July 20, 2020 to August 19, 2020, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jun 19 2020Brief amici curiae of Idaho, et al. filed.
- Jun 03 2020Motion to extend the time to file a response from June 19, 2020 to July 19, 2020, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jun 03 2020Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including July 20, 2020. See Rule 30.1.
- May 15 2020Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due June 19, 2020)
- Feb 21 2020Application (19A923) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until April 16, 2020.
- Feb 18 2020Application (19A923) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from March 17, 2020 to April 16, 2020, submitted to Justice Kagan.