Brian A. Buckley v. C.A. Terhune, Director of the CDC

Were I simply to disagree with the weight to be given the evidence, or the conclusions drawn therefrom, I would not further encumber the Federal Reports by writing a dissent. It is because I see this case as being controlled by 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1), whereas the majority apply section 2254(d)(2), that I respectfully dissent. When judges’ criteria pass each other without acknowledgment, like ships on a dark night, at least one should blow a horn.

Next, were the relevant legal issues whether Buckley “understood” or “knew” or “believed” he was pleading to a “15 years to life” sentence rather…