Marshall v. Rodgers, No. 12-382; U.S. Supreme Court; per curiam opinion; decided April 1, 2013. On petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Respondent Otis Lee Rodgers, challenging his state conviction, sought a writ of habeas corpus from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He claimed the state courts violated his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel by declining to appoint an attorney to assist in filing a motion for a new trial notwithstanding his three prior waivers of the right to counseled representation. The district court denied respondent’s petition, and he appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which granted habeas relief. 678 F.3d 1149, 1163 (2012). Because the court of appeals erred in concluding that respondent’s claim is supported by "clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States," 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1), its judgment must be reversed.
