Pizzuto v. Blades, No. 16-36082
(8-14-19)(Per curiam w/Fisher, Gould, & Rawlinson). This is an Atkins capital
petition. The 9th affirms the district court’s denial of habeas relief. The
Idaho Supreme Court denied Atkins relief because petitioner’s IQ test was above
70. This was before the Supreme Court’s decisions in Hall, Brumfield, and
Moore, which found that a strict IQ score above 70 should not preclude
intellectual disability consideration. AEDPA deference compelled the 9th to
find that the Idaho Supreme Court, in 2008, did not unreasonably apply Supreme
Court precedent.
The 9th did specifically stress that the state
Supreme Court could reconsider these Atkins questions in light of Supreme Court
subsequent decisions, and with the benefit of an evidentiary hearing, and
evolving psychiatric clinical standards. The 9th noted that the court could
address whether these standards now would violate the 8th amendment.
Tough case for Joan Fisher, AFPD, Cal E
(Sacramento).
The decision is here:
http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2019/08/14/16-36082.pdf
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home