Federal Judiciary

Petition of the day

By Kiran Bhat

Today’s first petition of the day is: 

Title: Missouri v. Vaca
Docket: 10-387
Issue(s): (1) Whether a state court of last resort can effectively create a new category of per se prejudice for ineffective assistance of counsel by ordering a new penalty-phase trial due to counsel's failure to consider presenting mental health evidence the court admitted was as likely to have harmed defendant as to have helped him; and (2) whether a state court of last resort can disregard the admonition of Strickland v. Washington that the idiosyncrasies of the particular decisionmaker are not to be considered in the prejudice inquiry of an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, and find that the omission of mental health evidence before the particular jury that sat in the defendant's sentencing hearing undermined confidence in the outcome of that sentencing hearing?

Certiorari-Stage Documents:

• Opinion below (Supreme Court of Missouri)
• Petition for certiorari

Today’s second petition of the day is:

Title: Guevara v. Peru
Docket: 10-389
Issue(s): Whether the "direct effect" clause of the commercial activity exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(2), requires evidence that a "legally significant act" occurred within the United States to vest U.S. courts with jurisdiction over a foreign sovereign.

Certiorari-Stage Documents:

• Opinion below (11th Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari

Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on October 12, 2010 (boomark / email).