Robert Wong, Warden v. Fernando Belmontes, JR. (558 U.S. 15)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided November 16, 2009 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 558 U.S. 15 · 130 S. Ct. 383
- Decided
- November 16, 2009
- Term
- October Term 2009
- Vote
- 9–0
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Per Curiam. In 1981, in the course of a burglary, Fernando Belmontes bludgeoned Steacy McConnell to death, striking her in the head 15 to 20 times with a steel dumbbell bar. See People v. Belmontes, 45 Cal. 3d 744, 759-761, 755 P. 2d 310, 315-316 (1988). After the murder, Belmontes and his accomplices stole McConnell’s stereo, sold it for $100, and used the money to buy beer and drugs for the night. Id., at 764-765, 755 P. 2d, at 318-319. Belmontes was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in state court. Unsuccessful on direct appeal and state collateral review, Belmontes sought federal habeas relief, which the District Court denied. The Court of Appeals reversed, finding instructional error, but we overturned that decision. Ayers v. Belmontes, 549 U. S. 7 (2006); see also Brown v. Belmontes, 544 U. S. 945 (2005). On remand, the Court of Appeals again ruled for Belmontes, this time finding that Belmontes suffered ineffective assistance of counsel during the sentencing phase of his trial. The District Court had previously denied relief on that ground, finding that counsel for Belmontes had performed deficiently under Ninth Circuit precedent, but that Belmontes could not establish prejudice under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U. S. 668 (1984). Belmontes v. Calderon, Civ. S-89-0736 DFL JFM (ED Cal., Aug. 15, 2000), App. to Pet. for Cert. 140a, 179a, 183a. The Court of…
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