McCoy v. Louisiana

Docket No.	Op. Below	Argument	Opinion	Vote	Author	Term
16-8255	La.	Jan 17, 2018	May 14, 2018	6-3	Ginsburg	OT 2017

Holding: The Sixth Amendment guarantees a defendant the right to choose the objective of his defense and to insist that his counsel refrain from admitting guilt, even when counsel"s experienced-based view is that confessing guilt offers the defendant the best chance to avoid the death penalty.

Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 6-3, in an opinion by Justice Ginsburg on May 14, 2018. Justice Alito filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Thomas and Gorsuch joined.

SCOTUSblog Coverage

The Annual: OT2017 in Review (First Mondays, July 9, 2018)
OT2017 #25: "The Way The Chief Loves Mootness" (First Mondays, May 21, 2018)
Opinion analysis: Court rules for death-row inmate whose lawyer conceded guilt (Updated) (Amy Howe, May 14, 2018)
Argument analysis: Concern for death-row inmate's rights likely to trump line-drawing worries (Amy Howe, January 17, 2018)
OT2017 #11: "Numbing Effect" (First Mondays, January 15, 2018)
Argument preview: When a defendant in a capital case says "not guilty," can his attorney say "guilty"? (Amy Howe, January 11, 2018)
Justices release January calendar (Amy Howe, November 17, 2017)
Justices issue orders from "long conference" (UPDATED) (Amy Howe, September 28, 2017)

Date	Proceedings and Orders (key to color coding)
03/06/2017	Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due April 10, 2017)
03/24/2017	Brief of respondent Louisiana in opposition filed.
04/10/2017	Brief amicus curiae of The Ethics Bureau at Yale filed.
04/10/2017	Brief amici curiae of The Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, et al. filed.
04/11/2017	Reply of petitioner Robert Leroy McCoy filed. (Distributed)
04/13/2017	DISTRIBUTED for Conference of April 28, 2017.
04/24/2017	Record Requested.
06/12/2017	Record received from the Supreme Court of Louisiana (6 boxes).
06/15/2017	DISTRIBUTED for Conference of September 25, 2017.
09/28/2017	Motion to proceed in forma pauperis and petition for a writ of certiorari GRANTED limited to Question 1 presented by the petition.
11/13/2017	Brief of petitioner Robert L.McCoy filed (to be corrected and reprinted).
11/13/2017	Joint appendix filed (2 volumes). (Statement of costs filed)
11/13/2017	Brief of petitioner Robert L. McCoy filed (Corrected brief received 1/10/18). (Distributed)
11/17/2017	SET FOR ARGUMENT ON Wednesday, January 17, 2018
11/17/2017	Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed.
11/20/2017	Brief amicus curiae of The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed.
11/20/2017	Brief amici curiae of Ten Law School Professors and the Ethics Bureau at Yale filed. (Distributed)
11/20/2017	Brief amicus curiae of The Criminal Bar Association of England & Wales filed. (Distributed)
11/20/2017	Brief amicus curiae of American Bar Association filed. (Distributed)
11/22/2017	CIRCULATED.
12/13/2017	Brief of respondent Louisiana filed. (Distributed)
12/18/2017	Record requested from the Supreme Court of Louisiana.
12/20/2017	Brief amici curiae of States of Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming filed. (Distributed)
01/05/2018	Reply of petitioner Robert L.McCoy filed. (Distributed)
01/17/2018	Argued. For petitioner: Seth P. Waxman, Washington, D. C. For respondent: Elizabeth Murrill, Solicitor General of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, La.
05/14/2018	Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Ginsburg, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Kennedy, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan, JJ., joined. Alito, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Thomas and Gorsuch, JJ., joined.
06/15/2018	JUDGMENT ISSUED.
06/15/2018	MANDATE ISSUED.
06/20/2018	Record returned to the Supreme Court of Louisiana (6 boxes).