Samuel W. Swoopes v. Sam Sublett Grant Woods, Attorney General

We consider this appeal on remand from the Supreme -Court for further consideration in light of O’Sullivan v. Boerckel, 526 U.S. 838, 119 S.Ct. 1728, 144 L.Ed.2d 1 (1999), decided after issuance of our prior decision in this case. After reconsideration, we conclude that Arizona state prisoners need not appeal an Arizona Court of Appeals’ denial of post-conviction relief to the Arizona Supreme Court in order to exhaust their state remedies for federal habeas corpus purposes, except in capital cases or cases involving the imposition of a life sentence.

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Samuel Swoopes, an Arizona state prisoner,…