Stephens v. Gongora
Certiorari Denied
Petition for certiorari denied on January 13, 2014.
Issue
Whether a federal court that bases its harmless error decision on the "grave doubt" rule of O'Neal v. McAninch can condemn a state court"s harmless-error decision as "so lacking in justification that there was an error well understood and comprehended in existing law beyond any possibility for fairminded disagreement," Harrington v. Richter, such that 28 U.S.C. 2254(d) will not bar federal habeas relief.
Nov 12, 2013Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 16, 2013)Dec 13, 2013Brief of respondent Nelson Gongora in opposition filed.
Dec 13, 2013Motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed by respondent Nelson Gongora.
Dec 24, 2013DISTRIBUTED for Conference of January 10, 2014.
Dec 31, 2013Reply of petitioner William Stephens, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division filed. (Distributed)Jan 13, 2014Motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed by respondent GRANTED.
Jan 13, 2014Petition DENIED.
Recommended Citation: Stephens v. Gongora, SCOTUSblog, https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/stephens-v-gongora/