Howes v. Walker

Issue: (1) Whether 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2)"s invitation to decide the reasonableness of a state-court factual determination fits with 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1)"s command that an underlying state-court fact determination must be presumed correct; (2) whether the Sixth Circuit violated Section 2254(d)(1) of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) by granting habeas relief on a purportedly unreasonable application of state law; and (3) whether the Sixth Circuit violated AEDPA " 2254(d)(1) by asserting its own prejudice standard " that a defendant "must only show that he had a substantial defense" " rather than this Court"s clearly established law as set forth in Strickland v. Washington, that prejudice requires a showing that, but for counsel"s error, there is a reasonable probability of a different outcome.

Judgment: Granted, vacated and remanded in light of Parker v. Matthews on June 11, 2012.