Jeffrey A. Beard, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al. v. Joseph J. Kindler (558 U.S. 53)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided December 8, 2009 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 558 U.S. 53 · 130 S. Ct. 612
- Decided
- December 8, 2009
- Term
- October Term 2009
- Vote
- 8–0
- Majority author
- Justice Roberts
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the Court. A federal habeas court will not review a claim rejected by a state court “if the decision of [the state] court rests on a state law ground that is independent of the federal question and adequate to support the judgment.” Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U. S. 722, 729 (1991). We granted certiorari to decide the following question: “Is a state procedural rule automatically ‘inadequate’ under the adequate-state-grounds doctrine — and therefore unenforceable on federal habeas corpus review — because the state rule is discretionary rather than mandatory?” Pet. for Cert. i. Petitioners argue the correct answer is “no.” At oral argument, respondent — consistent with his position below — expressly agreed. We do too, and accordingly vacate the judgment of the Court of Appeals. I In 1982, Joseph Kindler, along with Scott Shaw and David Bernstein, burglarized a music store in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Police stopped the getaway car and arrested Shaw and Bernstein. In a harbinger of things to come, Kindler escaped. Commonwealth v. Kindler, 536 Pa. 228, 236, 639 A. 2d 1, 5, cert. denied, 513 U. S. 933 (1994). Police later arrested Kindler and charged him with burglary. He was released on bail. Bernstein agreed to testify against Kindler, but Kindler had other plans. At about 2:30 a.m. on July 25, 1982, Kindler and Shaw attacked…
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