Harbison v. Bell
| Harbison v. Bell | |
|---|---|
| Argued January 12, 2009 Decided April 1, 2009 | |
| Full case name | Edward Jerome Harbison v. Ricky Bell, Warden |
| Docket no. | 07-8521 |
| Citations | 556 U.S. 180 (more) 129 S. Ct. 1481; 173 L. Ed. 2d 347 |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Case history | |
| Procedural | Writ of certiorari to United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit |
| Holding | |
| Indigent death row inmates sentenced under state law have a right to federally funded habeas counsel in post-conviction state clemency proceedings, when the state has denied such counsel. Sixth Circuit reversed. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Stevens, joined by Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer |
| Concurrence | Roberts |
| Concurrence | Thomas |
| Concur/dissent | Scalia, joined by Alito |
| Laws applied | |
| 28 U.S.C. Section 2254; 18 U.S.C. Section 3599 | |
Harbison v. Bell, 556 U.S. 180 (2009), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that federal law gave indigent death row inmates the right to federally appointed counsel to represent them in post-conviction state clemency proceedings, when the state has declined to do so. Certiorari was granted by the Supreme Court on June 23, 2008.