Virginia, et al. v. Dennis Leblanc
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 12, 2017 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Decided
- June 12, 2017
- Term
- October Term 2016
- Vote
- 9–0
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
PER CURIAM. Under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), a state prisoner is eligible for federal habeas relief if the underlying state court merits ruling was "contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law" as determined by this Court. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1). In this case, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that this demanding standard was met by a Virginia court's application of Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48, 130 S.Ct. 2011, 176 L.Ed.2d 825 (2010). The question presented is whether the Court of Appeals erred in concluding that the state court's ruling involved an unreasonable application of this Court's holding. I On July 6, 1999, respondent Dennis LeBlanc raped a 62-year-old woman. He was 16 at the time. In 2003, a state trial court sentenced him to life in prison for his crimes. In the 1990's, Virginia had, for felony offenders, abolished parole that followed a traditional framework. See Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-165.1 (2013). As a form of replacement, Virginia enacted its so-called "geriatric release" program, which allows older inmates to receive conditional release under some circumstances. LeBlanc v. Mathena, 841 F.3d 256, 261 (C.A.4 2016) (citing Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-40.01 ). Seven years after respondent was sentenced, this Court decided Graham v. Florida . Graham established that the…
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