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Franklin v. Florida

Petition for certiorari denied on November 13, 2018
Docket No. Op. Below Argument Opinion Vote Author Term
18-5228 Fla. - N/A N/A N/A N/A OT 2018

Issues: (1) Whether the per se harmless-error rule adopted by the Florida Supreme Court—which deems errors harmless in every case in which the capital defendant’s pre-Hurst advisory jury, after being instructed that the findings of fact and sentencing decision would be made by the judge alone, recommended the death penalty by a unanimous vote, rather than a majority vote—violates the Supreme Court’s precedents prohibiting state courts from mechanically denying federal constitutional claims on harmless-error grounds without first conducting an individualized review of the record as a whole; and (2) whether the per se harmless-error rule violates the Eighth Amendment doctrine discouraging reliance on decisions made by jurors whose sense of responsibility for a death sentence was diminished.

DateProceedings and Orders (key to color coding)
Apr 04 2018Application (17A1080) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from May 16, 2018 to July 15, 2018, submitted to Justice Thomas.
Apr 12 2018Application (17A1080) granted by Justice Thomas extending the time to file until July 15, 2018.
Jul 10 2018Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due August 13, 2018)
Aug 08 2018Brief of respondent State of Florida in opposition filed.
Aug 23 2018DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/24/2018.
Sep 18 2018Rescheduled.
Sep 27 2018DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/12/2018.
Oct 09 2018Rescheduled.
Oct 22 2018DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/26/2018.
Oct 22 2018Rescheduled.
Oct 29 2018DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/2/2018.
Nov 05 2018DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/9/2018.
Nov 13 2018Petition DENIED. Justice Thomas, concurring in the denial of certiorari: I concur for the reasons set out in Reynolds v. Florida, 586 U. S. ___ (2018) (Thomas, J., concurring). Justice Sotomayor, dissenting from the denial of certiorari: I dissent for the reasons set out in Reynolds v. Florida, 586 U. S. ___ (2018) (Sotomayor, J., dissenting).