Supreme Court Report

Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →

Moises Sandoval Mendoza v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 12-70035 · judgment August 31, 2023


Certiorari denied · October 7, 2024
Pre-decision estimate: 5% cert probability

Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a Fifth Circuit decision below, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and down for a state or local-government respondent.

Questions presented

  1. Whether a federal claim is “adjudicated on the merits” in state court under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) so long as the state court resolves the claim on substantive grounds, even if the petitioner did not have a full and fair opportunity to litigate the claim.

  2. Whether the Fifth Circuit erred in denying habeas relief on petitioner’s claim that his trial lawyers provided ineffective assistance by presenting a psychologist at the capital-sentencing phase who testified that petitioner lacked a moral compass, was a danger in and out of prison, and that the traditional mitigation factors were not present.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Jason Matthew Zarrow
O'Melveny & Myers LLP

For respondent
Lanora Christine Pettit
Office of the Texas Attorney General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Linked docket
23A496

Proceedings

  1. Oct 07 2024
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jun 26 2024
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/30/2024.
  3. Jun 26 2024
    Reply of petitioner Moises Sandoval Mendoza filed. (Distributed)
  4. Jun 12 2024
    Brief of respondent Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division in opposition filed.
  5. Apr 24 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including June 12, 2024.
  6. Apr 23 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from May 13, 2024 to June 12, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
  7. Mar 26 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including May 13, 2024.
  8. Mar 22 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 12, 2024 to May 13, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
  9. Mar 11 2024
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due April 12, 2024)
  10. Dec 01 2023
    Application (23A496) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until March 11, 2024.
  11. Nov 28 2023
    Application (23A496) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from February 11, 2024 to April 11, 2024, submitted to Justice Alito.