Gomez v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California

Background

Robert Alton Harris, a death-row prisoner, filed a federal civil suit arguing that execution by cyanide gas is cruel and unusual. He had previously filed four federal habeas petitions, and the Ninth Circuit had entered a last-minute stay of execution while the claim was considered. The State asked the Supreme Court to vacate that stay and let the execution proceed.

Reasoning

The Court granted the State’s application to vacate the stay. The per curiam opinion says Harris’ filing is an obvious attempt to avoid rules that bar successive claims and that he gave no convincing reason for failing to raise the issue earlier. Even if procedural bars did not apply, the Court said it would not reach the merits because equity requires weighing the State’s strong interest in carrying out its judgment and because Harris’ delay looked manipulative. The Court emphasized that last-minute attempts to stop an execution weigh against granting emergency equitable relief.

Real world impact

The immediate effect is that the orders staying Harris’ execution entered by the Ninth Circuit were vacated, clearing the way for the State to proceed. The Court did not rule on whether execution by cyanide gas is unconstitutional, so the constitutional question remains unresolved in lower courts. The decision signals that courts may refuse to hear very late challenges that seek to block executions.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Stevens (joined by Justice Blackmun) dissented, arguing that evidence shows cyanide gas causes extreme, unnecessary pain and that many States have abandoned the gas chamber; he would have left the stay in place to allow a full merits hearing.