Supreme Court Report

Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →

Thomas E. Clardy v. Kenneth Nelsen, Warden

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 23-5676 · judgment January 27, 2025


Certiorari denied · June 2, 2025
Pre-decision estimate: 2% cert probability

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

Question presented

In a case that hinges primarily on eyewitness identification, does a criminal defense attorney perform deficiently under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984), when the attorney fails to present expert testimony about the well-documented reliability problems of eyewitness identifications, or neglects even to request funding for such testimony from the court?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Angela Lee Bergman
Bass, Berry & Sims

For respondent
John Henry Bledsoe III
Office of Tennessee Attorney General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Jun 02 2025
    Petition DENIED.
  2. May 13 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/29/2025.
  3. May 05 2025
    Waiver of right of respondent Nelsen, Warden to respond filed.
  4. Apr 28 2025
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due June 2, 2025)