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| Justices refuse to free man jailed for calculator theft |
| By Los Angeles Times |
| Published: 05/04/2004 |
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The Supreme Court refused Monday to free a Texas man who has served more than six years in prison for stealing a calculator from a Wal-Mart, even though state prosecutors admitted his crime called for a maximum of two years behind bars. In a 6-3 decision, the justices said simple claims of injustice or "actual innocence" were usually not the basis for appeals in federal courts. To win in a federal court, defendants must show a "constitutional error" in the handling of their cases, they said. But the three dissenters criticized their colleagues for ignoring "simple justice" in favor of procedural technicalities. The high court reversed the orders that had freed Michael Haley, and it sent his case back to Texas for other judges to consider whether his mistaken prison sentence was his lawyer's fault. In the meantime, state prosecutors have promised they will allow Haley to remain free. Monday's ruling showed the court's determination to maintain a limited role for federal judges in reviewing state criminal cases. The Texas vs. Haley case posed the question of whether federal judges may reopen the cases of ordinary state inmates whose guilt or sentence is in doubt. Without deciding the matter directly, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said the high court would continue to adhere to a "rule of restraint" that limited federal judges from reopening state cases. In Monday's opinion, O'Connor said Haley's new lawyers should file a new appeal in federal court that alleged "ineffective assistance of counsel," a constitutional error that would allow a federal judge to free Haley. Justices John Paul Stevens, Anthony M. Kennedy and David H. Souter dissented. |
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