Legal Opinion
Sarah Thomas v. William D. Leeke, Commissioner the Attorney General of the State of South Carolina
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Decided January 12, 1984No. 83-6255PublishedCited by 27 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
MURNAGHAN, Circuit Judge:
Sarah Thomas, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in a prosecution in the courts of South Carolina, appeals from the order of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, 547 F.Supp. 612, denying her a writ of habeas corpus. She asserts the constitutional invalidity of her conviction on the grounds that the jury was wrongly instructed regarding the burden of proving self-defense.
Because we think that, read in context, the charge to the jury regarding self-defense was constitutionally inadequate, we reverse the order…
2Cases cited10 opinions
- In Re WINSHIPSupreme Court of the United States · 1970
- Wainwright v. SykesSupreme Court of the United States · 1977
- Engle v. IsaacSupreme Court of the United States · 1982
- Mullaney v. WilburSupreme Court of the United States · 1975
- Maggie W. Thomas v. Dorothy Arn, SuperintendentCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 1983
5 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by27 opinions
- People v. FlowersIllinois Supreme Court · 1990
- United States v. William Wesley Pruitt, A/K/A Buddy Pruitt, Kim Curtis DannerCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · 1985
- State v. SingletonSupreme Court of Connecticut · 2009
- State v. MontanezSupreme Court of Connecticut · 2006
- George Guy Derden, III v. Sheriff Sammie McNeel and Attorney General--State of MississippiCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 1991
22 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.