Legal Opinion
Sears v. Upton
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided June 29, 2010No. 09-8854PublishedCited by 272 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
*1028OPINION OF THE COURT
[561 U.S. 945]
2Per curiam
According to an expert who testified during state postconviction relief, petitioner Demarcus A. Sears performs at or
[561 U.S. 946]
below the bottom first percentile in several measures of cognitive functioning and reasoning. The cause of this abnormality appears to be significant frontal lobe brain damage Sears suffered as a child, as well as drug and alcohol abuse in his teens. But because—in the words of the state trial court—his counsel conducted a penalty phase investigation that was “on its face . . . constitutionally inadequate,” App. to Pet. for Cert.…
3Cases cited10 opinions
- Strickland v. WashingtonSupreme Court of the United States · 1984
- Williams v. TaylorSupreme Court of the United States · 2000
- Wiggins v. Smith, WardenSupreme Court of the United States · 2003
- Chambers v. MississippiSupreme Court of the United States · 1973
- Padilla v. KentuckySupreme Court of the United States · 2010
5 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
4Cited by272 opinions
- Wilson v. SellersSupreme Court of the United States · 2018
- Commonwealth v. Mason, L., ApltSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 2015
- Commonwealth v. KoehlerSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 2012
- Foster v. ChatmanSupreme Court of the United States · 2016
- Commonwealth v. PaddySupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 2011
267 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.