Selvage v. Collins
Headline: Death-row inmate’s claim tied to a later Supreme Court decision is sent back to the appeals court after the Justices vacate the lower judgment and ask the Fifth Circuit to decide if Texas bars the claim.
Holding: The Court vacated the Fifth Circuit’s judgment and remanded for that court to decide whether Texas courts presently treat the petitioner’s Penry-based claim as procedurally barred.
- Sends the death-row inmate’s Penry-based claim back to the Fifth Circuit for review under Texas law.
- Delays final resolution of the inmate’s execution while state-law bar is evaluated.
- Allows the Fifth Circuit to consider certifying a question to Texas’s highest criminal court.
Summary
Background
A person facing a death sentence asked the Justices to review the Fifth Circuit’s refusal to stay his execution. The Court had earlier stayed the execution and held the case while it decided Penry v. Lynaugh. After Penry, the Justices granted review to decide whether the petitioner had good reason not to raise a claim based on Penry and whether barring that claim would be a fundamental injustice. The state official in charge of executions disputes the petitioner’s view that Texas courts would now hear the Penry-based claim.
Reasoning
Because the Penry decision came after the petitioner filed for review and could change how Texas courts treat the claim, the Court decided that a state-law question should be resolved first. The Justices explained that the Fifth Circuit knows Texas law better than the Supreme Court does. So the Court vacated the appeals court’s judgment and sent the case back for the Fifth Circuit to determine whether Texas now regards the petitioner’s Penry-based claim as barred on procedural grounds.
Real world impact
The immediate effect is procedural: the death-row inmate’s claim will be reconsidered under Texas law by the Fifth Circuit, which may in turn ask Texas’s highest criminal court for guidance. This decision does not resolve the federal merits of the Penry claim, so the ultimate outcome and any effect on the sentence remain open.
Dissents or concurrances
Two Justices wrote separately. One said he would vacate the death sentence and opposed capital punishment in all cases. Another noted a Texas rule that might make the claim timely and suggested the appeals court could certify the question to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Opinions in this case:
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