Brecht v. Abrahamson
| Brecht v. Abrahamson | |
|---|---|
| Argued December 1, 1992 Decided April 21, 1993 | |
| Full case name | Brecht v. Abrahamson |
| Citations | 507 U.S. 619 (more) |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Opinion announcement | Opinion announcement |
| Case history | |
| Prior | 944 F.2d 1363 (CA7 1991) |
| Holding | |
| The Kotteakos harmless-error standard, rather than the Chapman standard, applies in determining whether habeas relief must be granted because of unconstitutional "trial error" such as the Doyle error at issue. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Rehnquist, joined by Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas |
| Concurrence | Stevens |
| Dissent | White, joined by Blackmun; Souter (except the footnote and part III) |
| Dissent | Blackmun |
| Dissent | O'Connor |
| Dissent | Souter |
Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619 (1993), was a United States Supreme Court case decided in 1993. The Court held that, when federal courts are deciding whether to grant habeas relief due to unconstitutional error at trial, they should use the harmless error standard outlined in Kotteakos v. United States to assess such claims.[1][2]
References
- ^ Blume, John; Garvey, Stephen (October 1, 1993). "Harmless Error in Federal Habeas Corpus After Brecht v. Abrahamson". William & Mary Law Review. 35 (1): 163. ISSN 0043-5589.
- ^ Liebman, James; Hertz, Randy (January 1, 1994). "Brecht v. Abrahamson: Harmful Error in Habeas Corpus Law". Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. 84 (4): 1109.
External links
- Text of Brecht v. Abrahamson is available from: Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)