Legal Opinion
Kirk Bradley Bell v. Jack Duckworth
Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Decided December 21, 1988No. 87-2591PublishedCited by 85 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
POSNER, Circuit Judge.
Kirk Bell was convicted of murder in an Indiana state court. After exhausting his state remedies he brought this habeas corpus action. The district court dismissed and he appeals. The appeal has no merit; we write only to make as clear as we can that procedural errors committed in the course of a state criminal trial are not a ground for federal habeas corpus. Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209, 221 (1982). Only constitutional error is a ground. This fundamental limitation on the habeas corpus jurisdiction may not be got round by the facile equation of state procedural…
2Cases cited10 opinions
- Smith v. PhillipsSupreme Court of the United States · 1982
- Hill v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1962
- Geders v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1976
- Robert Walberg v. Thomas IsraelCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1985
- McKinley Dudley v. Jack Duckworth, Warden, and Indiana Attorney GeneralCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1988
5 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by85 opinions
- Mike Hernandez v. Eddie S. Ylst, WardenCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1991
- George Guy Derden, III v. Sheriff Sammie McNeel and Attorney General--State of MississippiCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 1992
- Kenneth Eaglin v. George C. Welborn, Warden, and Roland W. Burris, Attorney General of IllinoisCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1995
- Buckham v. StateSupreme Court of Delaware · 2018
- John W. Drake v. Richard Clark and Indiana Attorney GeneralCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1994
80 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.