Prisoner prevails in Sixth Circuit habeas appeal

Client(s) Edmonds, Derek Rene

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit appointed Jones Day associate Alex Potapov to represent a Kentucky prisoner whose federal habeas corpus petition was dismissed on law-of-the-case grounds because similar claims were rejected in the separate, earlier federal habeas proceeding of his state court co-defendant. In a case of first impression, the Sixth Circuit panel issued a published decision unanimously adopting Jones Day's argument that the law-of-the-case doctrine categorically "does not apply across separate habeas actions brought independently by petitioners who were codefendants in the underlying criminal proceedings." In addition, Jones Day was able to secure a concession from the state that at least one of our client's claims should be reviewed de novo, rather than under the demanding AEDPA standard. Accordingly, the court remanded for our client's habeas petition to be reviewed on the merits.

Derek Edmonds v. Aaron Smith, No. 17-05982 (6th Cir.)