Etherly v. Schwartz

In 1997, fifteen-year-old Aris Etherly was convicted by a jury in Illinois state court of murder arising from the shooting death of Jeremy Rush. The court sentenced Etherly to a forty-year term of imprisonment. On appeal, Etherly argued, inter alia, that his inculpatory statement was involuntary. His conviction was affirmed by the Illinois Appellate Court, and the Illinois Supreme Court denied leave to appeal. Etherly then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal district court.

On August 28, 2009, addressing only Etherly’s involuntary statement claim, the district court granted…