Ayestas v. Davis

Brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the American Civil Liberties Union as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioner. 

Brief filed: 06/16/2017

Documents

Ayestas v. Davis

United States Supreme Court; Case No. 16-6795

Prior Decision

Decision below 817 F. 3d 888 (5th Cir. Mar. 22, 2016), denied rehearing and rehearing en banc via 826 F.3d 214 (5th Cir. June 10, 2016)

Argument(s)

Federal Habeas case law is replete with examples showing the importance of funding for investigation and experts – funding that is all but impossible to obtain under the Fifth Circuit’s approach. The Fifth Circuit’s standard discourages attorneys who rely on the Criminal Justice Act from seeking resources or even accepting capital habeas cases altogether.

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Author(s)

Jessica Ring Amunson, Matthew S. Hellman, and Andrew C. Noll, Jenner & Block LLP, Washington, DC; David A. Strauss and Sarah M. Konsky, Jenner & Block Supreme Court and Appellate Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, IL; David D. Cole, ALCU Foundation, Washington, DC; Brian W. Stull, ACLU Foundation, Durham, NC; Barbara E. Bergman, NACDL, Tucson, AZ.

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