United States Supreme Court
Beard v. Kindler, 08-992
In a capital habeas matter involving whether Pennsylvania's fugitive forfeiture rule provided an adequate basis to bar federal habeas review of petitioner's claims, grant of his habeas petition is vacated and remanded where a state procedural rule is not automatically "inadequate" under the adequate state ground doctrine (and therefore unenforceable on federal habeas review) because the state rule was discretionary rather than mandatory.
Appellate Information
- Decided 12/08/2009
- Published 12/08/2009
Judges
Court
- United States Supreme Court