Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Stokley v. Ryan (9th Cir. - Sept. 26, 2011)

Two Clinton appointees and a Bush appointee on a Ninth Circuit panel in a death penalty case.  So the result is going to be a split opinion that reverses the sentence, right?

Wrong.  The panel unanimously affirms the judgment.  Despite the fact that, as the opinion concedes, the "trial counsel's actions may seem imperfect in hindsight."

See?  You can't always judge a book by its cover.