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Walker v. Martin

Docket No. Op. Below Argument Opinion Vote Author Term
09-996 9th Cir. Nov 29, 2010 Feb 23, 2011 9-0 Ginsburg OT 2010

Holding: A California rule requiring state habeas petitions to be filed as promptly as the circumstances allow constitutes an independent state ground that is adequate to bar habeas relief in federal court.

Plain English Holding: A California rule requiring state habeas petitions to be filed “as promptly as the circumstances allow” constitutes an independent state ground that is adequate to bar habeas relief in federal court.

Judgment: Reversed, 9-0, in an opinion by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on February 23, 2011.

Briefs and Documents

Certiorari-Stage Documents

  • Opinion below (9th Circuit, unpublished)
  • Petition for certiorari (unavailable)
  • Brief in opposition
  • Petitioner’s reply (unavailable)
  • Amicus brief of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation (unavailable)