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John Lowery v. Mike Parris, Warden

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 21-5577 · judgment August 15, 2023


Certiorari denied · February 20, 2024
Pre-decision estimate: 1% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Question presented

I. Whether the Sixth Circuit, after applying a blanket rule of deference, erroneously deferred to the state court’s credibility findings when reviewing John Lowery’s gateway innocence claim even though the state court’s findings rested on clearly incorrect factual premises. II. Whether John Lowery made a credible showing of actual innocence allowing a federal court to review his constitutional claims given that: (1) the only eyewitnesses against him have recanted, which was also the only proof of his guilt; and (2) a disinterested witness whom the State suppressed has come forward and testified John Lowery was not the culprit.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Daniel Scott Harawa
NYU School of Law Federal Appellate Clinic

For respondent
John Henry Bledsoe III
Office of Tennessee Attorney General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Feb 20 2024
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jan 31 2024
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/16/2024.
  3. Jan 24 2024
    Reply of petitioner John Lowery filed.
  4. Jan 15 2024
    Brief of respondent Mike Parris in opposition filed.
  5. Dec 13 2023
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 16, 2024)