A. Cert Grants

Question Presented (from cert petition): Does the Fourth Amendment allow the States to collect and analyze DNA from people arrested and charged with serious crimes? Docket Lower court opinion (King v. State, 425 Md. 550, 42 A.3d 549 (2012)) Scotusblog page Under Maryland law, DNA Collection Act, Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety §2-504, an arrestee’s DNA can be collected and submitted… Read more

Question Presented (from cert pet): In federal habeas proceedings, undersigned counsel raised for the first time a claim under Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510 (2003), that trial counsel were ineffective for failing to investigate the extraordinary mitigating evidence in Mr. Trevino’s life. The federal proceeding was stayed to allow exhaustion, but the Texas Court of… Read more

Question Presented: The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) contains a one-year statute of limitations for filing a habeas petition. In Holland v. Florida, 130 S. Ct. 2549, 2562 (2010), this Court affirmed that a habeas petitioner is entitled to equitable tolling of that one-year period “only if he shows: (1) that… Read more

Question Presented: Whether a state’s failure to fund counsel for an indigent defendant for five years, particularly where failure was the direct result of the prosecution’s choice to seek the death penalty, should be weighed against the state for speedy trial purposes? Docket Lower court opinion (State v. Boyer, 56 So.3d 1119 (La. App. 2011) Scotusblog page The… Read more

Question Presented: Whether this Court’s decision in Harris v. United States, 536 U.S. 545 (2002), should be overruled. Docket Lower court opinion (U.S. v. Alleyne, CTA4 No. 11-4208, 12/15/11 (unpublished)) Scotusblog page Alleyne was convicted by a jury of using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to a robbery, 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c), 2. Though… Read more

Question Presented: Whether a law enforcement officer may obtain a nonconsensual and warrantless blood sample from a drunk driver under the exigent circumstances exception to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement based upon the natural dissipation of alcohol in the bloodstream. Docket Lower court opinion (State v. McNeely, 358 S.W.3d 65 (Mo. Banc 2012)) Scotusblog page Does the evanescent quality… Read more

Question Presented: The California Burglary Statute Section 459 does not require as an element that a burglar “enter or remain unlawfully in a building”. The Ninth Circuit held that it could determine whether this “missing element” was shown to have been proven by applying the modified categorical approach. The issues presented are as follows: 1- Whether the Ninth… Read more