Legal Opinion
Ruelas v. Wolfenbarger
Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Decided September 8, 2009No. 08-1571PublishedCited by 117 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
OPINION
BOYCE F. MARTIN, JR., Circuit Judge.
John David Ruelas pleaded guilty to “open murder” for causing his mother’s death. At his “degree hearing,” where a judge was to find the proper level of criminal homicide for Ruelas based on his plea, he was found guilty of second-degree murder. Ruelas has now filed a petition for a writ of federal habeas corpus, contending that his plea was not made knowingly or voluntarily and was thus unconstitutional. The district court agreed, and granted him a conditional writ of habeas corpus. Because we believe that even if his plea was involuntary any…
2Cases cited38 opinions
- Chapman v. CaliforniaSupreme Court of the United States · 1967
- Williams v. TaylorSupreme Court of the United States · 2000
- Boykin v. AlabamaSupreme Court of the United States · 1969
- Kotteakos v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1946
- Brecht v. AbrahamsonSupreme Court of the United States · 1993
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3Cited by117 opinions
- Tolliver v. SheetsCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 2010
- Samuel Moreland v. Margaret BradshawCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 2012
- United States v. Kwame KilpatrickCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 2015
- Mansfield v. SECRETARY, DEPT. OF CORRECTIONSCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · 2012
- Crangle v. KellyCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 2016
112 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.