Edward Jerome Harbison v. Ricky Bell, Warden (556 U.S. 180)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 1, 2009 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 556 U.S. 180 · 129 S. Ct. 1481
- Decided
- April 1, 2009
- Term
- October Term 2008
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority author
- Justice Stevens
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. Petitioner Edward Jerome Harbison was sentenced to death by a Tennessee court in 1983. In 1997, after the state courts rejected challenges to his conviction and sentence, the Federal District Court appointed the Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee to represent him in filing a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U. S. C. §2254. During the course of that representation, counsel developed substantial evidence relating both to Harbison’s culpability and to the appropriateness of his sentence. Although the courts did not order relief, the evidence proved persuasive to one Circuit Judge. See 408 F. 3d 823, 837-846 (CA6 2005) (Clay, J., dissenting). Shortly after his habeas corpus petition was denied, Harbison requested counsel for state clemency proceedings. In 2006, the Tennessee Supreme Court held that state law does not authorize the appointment of state public defenders as clemency counsel. State v. Johnson, No. M1987-00072SC-DPE-DD (per curiam), 2006 Tenn. Lexis 1236, *3 (Oct. 6, 2006). Thereafter, Harbison’s federally appointed counsel moved to expand the authorized scope of her representation to include state clemency proceedings. Relying on Circuit precedent construing 18 U. S. C. § 3599, which provides for the appointment of federal counsel, the District Court denied the motion, and the Court of…
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