The Supreme Court said Monday that state prisoners may not present new evidence in federal court in support of a claim that their post-conviction counsel in state court was ineffective in violation of the Constitution.
Highlights
- The 6-3 opinion was penned by Justice Clarence Thomas.
- In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor called the decision “perverse” and said the court had gutted precedent.
- The ruling is a major defeat for two inmates on death row who said they had compelling claims that their lawyers failed to pursue.
- It will make it harder for inmates across the country to prevail on claims that they received ineffective counsel at the state court level in post-conviction proceedings.
- The inmates involved were not at fault for their lawyers’ failure to develop evidence, and they should have been able to get into federal court, she wrote.
- The Sixth Amendment’s guarantee to the inmates “is now an empty one”