Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Warren King v. Shawn Emmons, Warden
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, No. 20-12804 · judgment June 2, 2023
Before the decision, about 3× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, 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
A Georgia jury convicted and sentenced to death Warren King, a black man, for murdering a white woman during a robbery attempt when he was 18 years old. Abundant evidence demonstrates that the prosecutor discriminated against black and female jurors in selecting King’s jury. The prosecutor struck 87.5% of the black jurors in the pool, while striking only 8.8% of white jurors, all women. When the defense challenged his strikes, the prosecutor embarked on not one, but two rants, in which he “angr[ily]” told the court that it was “improper for this Court to tell me that I cannot decide” who to strike, and that Batson was unnecessary because often “it was a physical impossibility if you wanted to strike every black off a jury.” Pet. App. 46-48a. On appeal, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed without mentioning the prosecutor’s rants or his grossly disproportionate strike rate, and notwithstanding the prosecutor’s inconsistent, flimsy, and factually inaccurate rationales for many of his strikes. On habeas review, a divided Eleventh Circuit panel ultimately held that although the record was “troubling,” the state court had not acted unreasonably. The questions presented are:
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Whether the Georgia Supreme Court’s decision was based on “an unreasonable determination” of the facts. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2).
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Whether the Georgia Supreme Court “unreasonably applied.” Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986). 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1).
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Matthew S. Hellman
Jenner & Block LLP
For respondent
Sabrina D. Graham
Senior Assistant Attorney General
Argument & decision
Decided July 2, 2024.
Proceedings
- Jul 15 2024Record returned to U.S.D.C. Southern District of Georgia (1 envelope).
- Jul 02 2024Petition DENIED. Justice Jackson, with whom Justice Sotomayor joins, dissenting from the denial of certiorari. (Detached Opinion)
- Jun 28 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 7/1/2024.
- Jun 17 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/20/2024.
- Jun 11 2024Rescheduled.
- Jun 10 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/13/2024.
- Jun 04 2024Rescheduled.
- Jun 03 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/6/2024.
- May 28 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/30/2024.
- May 28 2024Rescheduled.
- May 22 2024Rescheduled.
- May 20 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/23/2024.
- May 14 2024Rescheduled.
- May 13 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/16/2024.
- May 08 2024Rescheduled.
- May 06 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/9/2024.
- Apr 22 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/26/2024.
- Apr 22 2024Rescheduled.
- Apr 16 2024Rescheduled.
- Apr 15 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/19/2024.
- Apr 10 2024Rescheduled.
- Apr 08 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/12/2024.
- Mar 26 2024Rescheduled.
- Mar 12 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/28/2024.
- Mar 11 2024Record received from the U.S.D.C. Southern District of Georgia (1 envelope).
- Feb 27 2024Electronic record received from the U.S.C.A. 11th Circuit.
- Feb 20 2024Record Requested.
- Feb 07 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/23/2024.
- Feb 06 2024Reply of petitioner Warren King filed. (Distributed)
- Jan 19 2024Brief amicus curiae of Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed.
- Jan 18 2024Brief amici curiae of Marilyn Garrett, et al. filed.
- Jan 18 2024Brief of respondent Shawn Emmons, Warden in opposition filed.
- Dec 18 2023Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 19, 2024)
- Nov 08 2023Application (23A412) granted by Justice Thomas extending the time to file until December 18, 2023.
- Nov 03 2023Application (23A412) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from November 16, 2023 to January 15, 2024, submitted to Justice Thomas.