Remon Lee v. Mike Kemna, Superintendent, Crossroads Correctional Center (534 U.S. 362)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided January 22, 2002 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 534 U.S. 362 · 122 S. Ct. 877
- Decided
- January 22, 2002
- Term
- October Term 2001
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Ginsburg
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Ginsbueg delivered the opinion of the Court. Petitioner Remon Lee asserts that a Missouri trial court deprived him of due process when the court refused to grant an overnight continuance of his trial. Lee sought the continuance to locate subpoenaed, previously present, but suddenly missing witnesses key to his defense against felony charges. On direct review, the Missouri Court of Appeals disposed of the case on a state procedural ground. That court found the continuance motion defective under the State’s rules. It therefore declined to consider the merits of Lee’s plea that the trial court had denied him a fair opportunity to present a defense. Whether the state ground dis-positive in the Missouri Court of Appeals is adequate to preclude federal habeas corpus review is the question we here consider and decide. On the third day of his trial, Lee was convicted of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. His sole affirmative defense was an alibi; Lee maintained he was in California, staying with his family, when the Kansas City crimes for which he was indicted occurred. Lee’s mother, stepfather, and sister voluntarily came to Missouri to testify on his behalf. They were sequestered in the courthouse at the start of the trial’s third day. For reasons then unknown, they were not in the courthouse later in the day when defense counsel sought to present their…
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