Wood v. Milyard

GORSUCH, Circuit Judge.

Patrick Wood’s case has labored its way through the state court system, through the lower federal courts, all the way to the United States Supreme Court — and back again — for the better part of three decades. Today, we take one step closer to a final resolution.

Twenty-seven years ago Mr. Wood entered a pizza delivery store to commit a robbery. It ended badly: he wound up shooting and killing the assistant manager. As Mr. Wood sought to flee, restaurant employees heroically captured and disarmed him, holding him until the police arrived. After a bench trial, Mr. Wood…