Brown v. Davenport
| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20-826 | 6th Cir. | Oct 5, 2021 | Apr 21, 2022 | 6-3 | Gorsuch | OT 2021 |
Holding: When a state court has ruled on the merits of a state prisoner"s claim, a federal court cannot grant habeas relief without applying both the test the Supreme Court outlined in Brecht v. Abrahamson and the one Congress prescribed in the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit erred in granting habeas relief to Ervine Davenport based solely on its assessment that he could satisfy the Brecht standard.
Judgment: Reversed, 6-3, in an opinion by Justice Gorsuch on April 21, 2022. Justice Kagan filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Breyer and Sotomayor joined.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Announcement of opinions for Thursday, April 21 (complete) (Angie Gou, April 21, 2022)
- Cases on Boston Marathon bomber, CIA secrets headline October argument calendar (Amy Howe, July 13, 2021)
- Court to take up case on harmless error standard in habeas proceedings (Amy Howe, April 5, 2021)
- An important right-to-carry case, and another close look at a Sixth Circuit decision granting habeas relief (John Elwood, March 31, 2021)
- Two cases on the state-secrets privilege (Andrew Hamm, January 22, 2021)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| 12/14/2020 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 19, 2021) |
| 12/21/2020 | Application (20A116) to recall and stay mandate, submitted to Justice Kavanaugh. |
| 12/30/2020 | Motion to extend the time to file a response to the petition for a writ of certiorari from January 19, 2021 to February 18, 2021, submitted to The Clerk. |
| 12/31/2020 | Response to application (20A116) requested by Justice Kavanaugh, due Tuesday, January 12, 2021, by 4 p.m. ET. |
| 01/04/2021 | Motion to extend the time to file a response to the petition for a writ of certiorari is granted and the time is extended to and including February 18, 2021. |
| 01/12/2021 | Response to application from respondent Ervine Davenport filed. |
| 01/19/2021 | Reply of applicant Mike Brown, Acting Warden filed. |
| 01/21/2021 | Letter of applicant Mike Brown, Acting Warden received. |
| 02/01/2021 | Application (20A116) referred to the Court. |
| 02/01/2021 | Application (20A116) granted by the Court. The application to recall and stay the mandate, presented to Justice Kavanaugh and by him referred to the Court, is granted, and the mandate of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in case No. 17-2267 is recalled and stayed pending the disposition of the petition for a writ of certiorari. Should the petition for a writ of certiorari be denied, this stay shall terminate automatically. In the event the petition for a writ of certiorari is granted, the stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court. Justice Sotomayor would deny the application. |
| 02/18/2021 | Brief of respondent Ervine Davenport in opposition filed. |
| 03/08/2021 | Reply of petitioner Mike Brown, Acting Warden filed. (Distributed) |
| 03/10/2021 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/26/2021. |
| 03/29/2021 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/1/2021. |
| 04/05/2021 | Petition GRANTED. |
| 04/20/2021 | Motion for an extension of time filed. |
| 04/22/2021 | Motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits is granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioner's brief on the merits is extended to and including June 10, 2021. The time to file respondent's brief on the merits is extended to and including August 2, 2021. |
| 05/12/2021 | Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Mike Brown, Acting Warden |
| 06/10/2021 | Brief of petitioner Mike Brown, Acting Warden filed. |
| 06/10/2021 | Joint appendix volume I, II, and III filed. (Statement of costs filed) |
| 06/17/2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Criminal Justice Legal Foundation filed. |
| 06/17/2021 | Brief amici curiae of States of Arkansas, et al. filed. |
| 06/17/2021 | Brief amici curiae of Jonathan F. Mitchell & Adam K. Mortara filed. |
| 07/01/2021 | Corrected Certificate of Word Compliance filed with respect to amici curiae of Jonathan F. Mitchell and Adam K. Mortara. |
| 07/13/2021 | ARGUMENT SET FOR Tuesday, October 5, 2021. |
| 07/28/2021 | Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 6th Circuit. |
| 07/28/2021 | Record received from the U.S.C.A. 6th Circuit has been electronically filed. |
| 08/02/2021 | Brief of respondent Ervine Davenport filed. |
| 08/03/2021 | CIRCULATED |
| 09/01/2021 | Reply of petitioner Mike Brown, Acting Warden filed. (Distributed) |
| 10/05/2021 | Argued. For petitioner: Fadwa A. Hammoud, Solicitor General, Lansing, Mich. For respondent: Tasha Bahal, Boston, Mass. |
| 04/21/2022 | Judgment REVERSED. Gorsuch, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, JJ., joined. Kagan, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Breyer and Sotomayor, JJ., joined. |
| 05/23/2022 | Judgment Issued |