Ricky Bell, Warden v. Gregory Thompson (545 U.S. 794)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 27, 2005 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 545 U.S. 794 · 125 S. Ct. 2825
- Decided
- June 27, 2005
- Term
- October Term 2004
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Kennedy
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court. This case requires us to consider whether, after we had denied certiorari and a petition for rehearing, the Court of Appeals had the power to withhold its mandate for more than five months without entering a formal order. We hold that, even assuming a court may withhold its mandate after the denial of certiorari in some cases, the Court of Appeals’ decision to do so here was an abuse of discretion. HH In 1985, Gregory Thompson and Joanna McNamara abducted Brenda Blanton Lane from a store parking lot in Shelbyville, Tennessee. After forcing Lane to drive them to a remote location, Thompson stabbed her to death. Thompson offered no evidence during the guilt phase of trial and was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder. Thompson’s defense attorneys concentrated their efforts on persuading the sentencing jury that Thompson’s positive qualities and capacity to adjust to prison life provided good reasons for not imposing the death penalty. Before trial, Thompson’s counsel had explored the issue of his mental condition. The trial judge referred Thompson to a state-run mental health facility for a 30-day evaluation. The resulting report indicated that Thompson was competent at the time of the offense and at the time of the examination. The defense team retained their own expert, Dr. George Copple, a clinical psychologist. At…
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