Roberts v. Norris

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

RICHARD G. KOPF, District Judge.

Presenting a fascinating “exhaustion” issue, this is a case brought by Karl Douglas Roberts (“Roberts”) under the federal ha-beas corpus statute. He seeks to avoid the death penalty. Roberts raises several arguments that he did not present to the Arkansas courts.

Impressed by the fact that Roberts suffered a serious injury to his brain (with a resultant loss of cerebral tissue) when he was a child, and applying Rhines v. Weber, 544 U.S. 269, 125 S.Ct. 1528, 161 L.Ed.2d 440 (2005), I have decided to grant Roberts’ motion to “stay and abey.” 1…