The US Supreme Court has refused to hear a case revolving around the claim that a lower court defied its precedent instructions, thus deciding a case involving a South Carolina man on death row. The petition, which was denied on Monday, questioned the impact of the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Shinn v. Ramirez, a case in which the Justices deeply divided over the range of evidence federal courts can assess when they review state criminal convictions.
This previous ruling led to the reassessment of the appeal of Sammie Louis Stokes, which was summarily undone by the Supreme Court and redirected to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, with instructions to apply their recent decision in Shinn.
Yet, during the appeal process, it was noted that the Fourth Circuit declined to apply the Shinn judgement, which marked a break from the Supreme Court’s instructions. The details of the Fourth Circuit’s decision have not been clearly stated.
For further details, legal professionals and interested parties can review the full coverage of the decision at Bloomberg Law.