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Clark v. Louisiana

Petition granted, judgment vacated and case remanded for further consideration in light of McCoy v. Louisiana on June 25, 2018.

Docket No. Argument Opinion Vote Author Term
16-9541 N/A N/A N/A N/A OT 2017

Issue: (1) Whether the Louisiana Supreme Court erred in upholding the petitioner"s death sentence when the jury made only one of the two statutory required jury findings beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) whether standards of decency have evolved to render the execution of a defendant prosecuted as a principal to first degree murder unconstitutional when, as the state conceded, jurors could not know who inflicted the blows that caused the victim"s death; (3) whether testimony establishing communications between a deputy monitoring the trial and an alternate juror in front of other jurors about the trial constitutes sufficient evidence to be presumptively prejudicial; and (4) whether the Louisiana Supreme Court"s rule, which requires an indigent defendant to accept his trial counsel"s decision to concede his guilt of second degree murder over his express objections or represent himself, vitiates the voluntariness of the petitioner"s waiver of counsel.

DateProceedings and Orders (key to color coding)
06/10/2017Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due July 13, 2017)
07/13/2017Order extending time to file response to petition to and including August 14, 2017.
08/10/2017Order further extending time to file response to petition to and including September 5, 2017.
09/07/2017Order further extending time to file response to petition to and including September 11, 2017.
09/11/2017Brief of respondent Louisiana in opposition filed.
09/20/2017Reply of petitioner Jeffrey Clark filed.
09/28/2017DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/13/2017.
10/02/2017Letter of October 2, 2017, from counsel for petitioner received.
05/14/2018DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/17/2018.
05/21/2018DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/24/2018.
05/29/2018DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/31/2018.
06/04/2018DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/7/2018.
06/11/2018DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/14/2018.
06/18/2018DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/21/2018.
06/25/2018Motion to proceed in forma pauperis and petition for a writ of certiorari GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further consideration in light of McCoy v. Louisiana, 584 U. S. ____ (2018).
07/27/2018JUDGMENT ISSUED.
07/27/2018MANDATE ISSUED.