BRACY
v.
ARIZONA

U.S. | 1986-01-27
No. 85-5776
474 U.S. 1110 Supreme Court of the United States (1986) Positive Treatment
Cited by 13 cases
Dissent
Justice Brennan,

Justice Brennan,

dissenting.

Adhering to my view that the death penalty is in all circumstances cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U. S. 153, 227 (1976), I would grant certiorari and vacate the death sentence in this case.

Dissent
Justice Marshall,

Justice Marshall,

dissenting.

Petitioner William Bracy was convicted of two murders and sentenced to death. He claims that the state trial court improperly barred him from pursuing, in his cross-examination of a prosecution witness, the only line of questioning that could have revealed that witness’ motivation to shade his testimony in favor of the prosecution. He argues that he was thus denied his Sixth Amendment right to confront the State’s witnesses against him. Davis v. Alaska, 415 U. S. 308 (1974). I believe that petitioner’s claim may be substantial, requiring that his conviction be vacated.

In the pending case of Delaware v. Van Arsdall (No. 84-1279), cert. granted, 473 U. S. 923 (1985), this Court is to decide whether an absolute denial of cross-examination of a prosecution witness concerning potential bias can ever be harmless error. The Court denies certiorari in this case without even waiting to consider what light the Van Arsdall case will shed on the issues here. Because I consider such haste inappropriate, especially when a man’s life is hanging in the balance, I dissent from the denial of certiorari.

Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus

Citator

Cited By (11 total)

  • Walton v. Arizona, 497 U.S. 639 (U.S. 1990)
    …the indisputable fact that there is no legitimate reason to commit murder, but they provide no principled basis for identifying the most blameworthy killings. See, e. g., State v. Bracy, 145 Ariz. 520, 537, 703 P. 2d 464, 481 (1985), cert. denied, 474 U. S. 1110 (1986); State v. Carriger, 143 Ariz. 142, 160, 692 P. 2d 991, 1009 (1984), cert. denied, 471 U. S. 1111 (1985); State v. Correll, 148 Ariz., at 480, 715 P. 2d, at 733. See State v. Rossi, 146 Ariz., at 365, 706 P. 2d, at 377 (“Before defendant fire…
  • Bracy v. Gramley, 520 U.S. 899 (U.S. 1997)
    …137 (1992) (Collins II) (affirming denial of petition for postconviction relief); cert. denied, 508 U. S. 915 (1993). Bracy is also under a death sentence for two murders in Arizona. State v. Bracy, 145 Ariz. 520, 703 P. 2d 464 (1985), cert. denied, 474 U. S. 1110 (1986); Bracy v. Arizona, 497 U. S. 1031 (1990) (denying petition for writ of certiorari to Arizona Supreme Court to review denial of Bracy’s petition for review of state court’s denial of petition for postconviction relief); Bracy v. Arizona, 514 U…
  • United States v. Beale, 921 F.2d 1412 (11th Cir. 1991)
    …ecution delays in transmitting evidence during a trial, but only if the defendant can show prejudice, e.g., the material came so late that it could not be effectively used. United States v. Darwin, 757 F. 2d 1193, 1201 (11th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1110, 106 S.Ct. 896, 88 L.Ed.2d 930 (1986). “Suppressed evidence useful only for impeachment purposes is material if its disclosure probably would have resulted in acquittal.” Id. at 1202 (citations omitted). The record supports the district court’s fin…

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