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Brown v. Davenport
| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20-826 | 6th Cir. | Oct 5, 2021 | Apr 21, 2022 | 6-3 | Gorsuch | OT 2021 |
Holding: When a state court has ruled on the merits of a state prisoner’s claim, a federal court cannot grant habeas relief without applying both the test the Supreme Court outlined in Brecht v. Abrahamson and the one Congress prescribed in the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit erred in granting habeas relief to Ervine Davenport based solely on its assessment that he could satisfy the Brecht standard.
Judgment: Reversed, 6-3, in an opinion by Justice Gorsuch on April 21, 2022. Justice Kagan filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Breyer and Sotomayor joined.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- In rejecting a prisoner’s post-conviction claim, court plants seeds for narrowing habeas relief (Eve Brensike Primus, April 22, 2022)
- Announcement of opinions for Thursday, April 21 (complete) (Angie Gou, April 21, 2022)
- A search for coherence in the interplay between AEDPA and Brecht (Eve Brensike Primus, October 6, 2021)
- Justices to consider appropriate standard for harmless-error review of state convictions in federal habeas proceedings (Eve Brensike Primus, October 3, 2021)
- Cases on Boston Marathon bomber, CIA secrets headline October argument calendar (Amy Howe, July 13, 2021)
- Court to take up case on “harmless error” standard in habeas proceedings (Amy Howe, April 5, 2021)
- An important right-to-carry case, and another close look at a Sixth Circuit decision granting habeas relief (John Elwood, March 31, 2021)
- Two cases on the state-secrets privilege (Andrew Hamm, January 22, 2021)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| Dec 14 2020 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 19, 2021) |
| Dec 21 2020 | Application (20A116) to recall and stay mandate, submitted to Justice Kavanaugh. |
| Dec 30 2020 | Motion to extend the time to file a response to the petition for a writ of certiorari from January 19, 2021 to February 18, 2021, submitted to The Clerk. |
| Dec 31 2020 | Response to application (20A116) requested by Justice Kavanaugh, due Tuesday, January 12, 2021, by 4 p.m. ET. |
| Jan 04 2021 | Motion to extend the time to file a response to the petition for a writ of certiorari is granted and the time is extended to and including February 18, 2021. |
| Jan 12 2021 | Response to application from respondent Ervine Davenport filed. |
| Jan 19 2021 | Reply of applicant Mike Brown, Acting Warden filed. |
| Jan 21 2021 | Letter of applicant Mike Brown, Acting Warden received. |
| Feb 01 2021 | Application (20A116) referred to the Court. |
| Feb 01 2021 | Application (20A116) granted by the Court. The application to recall and stay the mandate, presented to Justice Kavanaugh and by him referred to the Court, is granted, and the mandate of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in case No. 17-2267 is recalled and stayed pending the disposition of the petition 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 sending down of the judgment of this Court. Justice Sotomayor would deny the application. |
| Feb 18 2021 | Brief of respondent Ervine Davenport in opposition filed. |
| Mar 08 2021 | Reply of petitioner Mike Brown, Acting Warden filed. (Distributed) |
| Mar 10 2021 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/26/2021. |
| Mar 29 2021 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/1/2021. |
| Apr 05 2021 | Petition GRANTED. |
| Apr 20 2021 | Motion for an extension of time filed. |
| Apr 22 2021 | Motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits is granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioner's brief on the merits is extended to and including June 10, 2021. The time to file respondent's brief on the merits is extended to and including August 2, 2021. |
| May 12 2021 | Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Mike Brown, Acting Warden |
| Jun 10 2021 | Brief of petitioner Mike Brown, Acting Warden filed. |
| Jun 10 2021 | Joint appendix volume I, II, and III filed. (Statement of costs filed) |
| Jun 17 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Criminal Justice Legal Foundation filed. |
| Jun 17 2021 | Brief amici curiae of States of Arkansas, et al. filed. |
| Jun 17 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Jonathan F. Mitchell & Adam K. Mortara filed. |
| Jul 01 2021 | Corrected Certificate of Word Compliance filed with respect to amici curiae of Jonathan F. Mitchell and Adam K. Mortara. |
| Jul 13 2021 | ARGUMENT SET FOR Tuesday, October 5, 2021. |
| Jul 28 2021 | Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 6th Circuit. |
| Jul 28 2021 | Record received from the U.S.C.A. 6th Circuit has been electronically filed. |
| Aug 02 2021 | Brief of respondent Ervine Davenport filed. |
| Aug 03 2021 | CIRCULATED |
| Sep 01 2021 | Reply of petitioner Mike Brown, Acting Warden filed. (Distributed) |
| Oct 05 2021 | Argued. For petitioner: Fadwa A. Hammoud, Solicitor General, Lansing, Mich. For respondent: Tasha Bahal, Boston, Mass. |
| Apr 21 2022 | Judgment REVERSED. Gorsuch, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, JJ., joined. Kagan, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Breyer and Sotomayor, JJ., joined. |
| May 23 2022 | Judgment Issued |
