Blair v. Kentucky; And Carpenter Et Al. v. Kentucky

Justice Brennan, with whom Justice Marshall joins,

dissenting.

These petitions present the question whether the decision of the Supreme Court of Kentucky rests upon an independent and adequate state procedural ground that bars this Court’s review of petitioners’ constitutional claim, inter alia, that their convictions were based on a record lacking sufficient evidence. Because the question of when and how failure to comply with state procedural rules precludes our consideration of a federal constitutional claim is itself a federal question, Henry v. Mississippi, 379 U. S. 443, 447-448 (1965),…