Breaking News

Bower v. Texas

Petition for certiorari denied on March 23, 2015
Docket No. Op. Below Argument Opinion Vote Author Term
14-292 Tex. Crim. App. N/A N/A N/A N/A OT 2014

Issue: (1) Whether the former Texas special issues for death penalty sentencing do provide – as the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held – or do not provide – as the Fifth Circuit has held – an appropriate vehicle for the jury to consider and give full effect to mitigating evidence of good character, such that failure to provide a separate question violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments under this Court’s jurisprudence in Penry v. Lynaugh and Penry v. Johnson; (2) whether a conviction aided by the prosecution's failure to produce evidence that contradicted its theory and showed that the evidence it did rely upon and the resulting jury arguments were false violates the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments under this Court's Brady v. Maryland jurisprudence; and (3) whether executing a defendant who has already served more than thirty years on death row while exercising his legal rights in a non-abusive manner serves any penological purpose and amounts to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.

SCOTUSblog Coverage

DateProceedings and Orders (key to color coding)
Sep 9 2014Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 14, 2014)
Oct 10 2014Order extending time to file response to petition to and including November 13, 2014.
Nov 13 2014Brief of respondent Texas in opposition filed.
Dec 1 2014Reply of petitioner Lester Leroy Bower, Jr. filed.
Dec 3 2014DISTRIBUTED for Conference of January 9, 2015.
Jan 12 2015DISTRIBUTED for Conference of January 16, 2015.
Jan 20 2015DISTRIBUTED for Conference of January 23, 2015.
Feb 3 2015Application (14A838) for a stay of execution of sentence of death, submitted to Justice Scalia.
Feb 4 2015Response to application from respondent Texas filed.
Feb 5 2015Application (14A838) referred to the Court.
Feb 5 2015Application (14A838) granted by the Court. The application for stay of execution of sentence of death presented to Justice Scalia and by him referred to the Court is granted pending the disposition of the petition (14-292) for a writ of certiorari. Should the petition for a writ of certiorari be denied, this stay shall terminate automatically. In the event the petition for a writ of certiorari is granted, the stay shall terminate upon the issuance of the mandate of this Court.
Feb 9 2015DISTRIBUTED for Conference of February 20, 2015.
Feb 23 2015DISTRIBUTED for Conference of February 27, 2015.
Mar 2 2015DISTRIBUTED for Conference of March 6, 2015.
Mar 9 2015DISTRIBUTED for Conference of March 20, 2015.
Mar 23 2015Petition DENIED Justice Breyer, with whom Justice Ginsburg and Justice Sotomayor join, dissenting from the denial of certiorari. (Detached Opinion)