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Marion Alexander Lindsey v. South Carolina
Paid petition · Supreme Court of South Carolina, No. 2019-001271 · judgment November 5, 2025
Before the decision, about 2.2× 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, and down for a state or local-government respondent.
Questions presented
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Whether courts evaluating ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims may evaluate only each error in isolation—or whether they are obligated to consider the prejudice resulting from the cumulative effect of counsel’s deficiencies.
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Whether a trial court’s wholesale adoption in a capital case of the State’s proposed order without providing any judicial guidance or substantive change violates the Due Process Clause or Eighth Amendment.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Paul Whitfield Hughes
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP
For respondent
Melody Jane Brown
South Carolina Attorney General's Office
Case
Subject area
Criminal Procedure (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Linked docket
25A846
Order
Order list, October 5, 2026 · Certiorari denied
Proceedings
- Oct 05 2026Petition DENIED.
- Jul 15 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/28/2026.
- Jul 14 2026Reply of petitioner Marion Lindsey filed. (Distributed)
- Jun 29 2026Brief of respondent South Carolina in opposition filed.
- May 11 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including June 29, 2026.
- May 08 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response from May 14, 2026 to June 29, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
- Apr 03 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due May 14, 2026)
- Jan 27 2026Application (25A846) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until April 3, 2026.
- Jan 21 2026Application (25A846) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from February 3, 2026 to April 3, 2026, submitted to The Chief Justice.