Smith v. Murray, Director, Virginia Department of Corrections (477 U.S. 527)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 26, 1986 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 477 U.S. 527 · 106 S. Ct. 2661
- Decided
- June 26, 1986
- Term
- October Term 1985
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice O'Connor
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice O’Connor delivered the opinion of the Court. We granted certiorari to decide whether and, if so, under what circumstances, a prosecutor may elicit testimony from a mental health professional concerning the content of an interview conducted to explore the possibility of presenting psychiatric defenses at trial. We also agreed to review the Court of Appeals’ determination that any error in the admission of the psychiatrist’s evidence in this case was irrelevant under the holding of Zant v. Stephens, 462 U. S. 862 (1983). On examination, however, we conclude that petitioner defaulted his underlying constitutional claim by failing to press it before the Supreme Court of Virginia on direct appeal. Accordingly, we decline to address the merits of petitioner’s claims and affirm the judgment dismissing the petition for a writ of habeas corpus. I Following a jury trial, petitioner was convicted of the May 1977 murder of Audrey Weiler. According to his confession, petitioner encountered Ms. Weiler in a secluded area near his home and raped her at knifepoint. Fearing that her testimony could send him back to prison, he then grabbed her by the neck and choked her until she fell unconscious. When he realized that she was still alive, he dragged her into a nearby river, submerged her head, and repeatedly stabbed her with his knife. A subsequent medical examination indicated that…
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