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Bowersox v. Williams, 517 U.S. 345 (1996)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Bowersox v. Williams, 517 U.S. 345 (1996)
Bowersox v. Williams No. A-828 Decided April 9, 1996 517 U.S. 345
ON APPLICATION TO VACATE STAY OF EXECUTION
Syllabus
A federal district court denied respondent Williams’ third habeas corpus petition, finding all of his claims to be abusive, successive, or procedurally defaulted. The Eighth Circuit subsequently entered a summary order staying Williams’ pending execution, giving no explanation for its conclusion that such a stay was appropriate.
Held: the Eighth Circuit abused its discretion by entering a stay on this record. Entry of a stay on a second or third habeas petition is particularly egregious absent substantial grounds for relief. Delo v. Blair, 509 U.S. 823. No such grounds can be discerned here. The Magistrate’s report adopted by the District Court meticulously addresses and rejects each of Williams’ claims. To the extent that the Eighth Circuit discerned substantial grounds for relief, it failed to reveal them in its summary order. Entry of a stay without explanation is disfavored, cf. Netherland v. Tuggle, 515 U.S. 951 (per curiam), for this Court loses the benefit of the court of appeals’ views and must resort to other portions of the record in evaluating whether to vacate the stay.
Application granted.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Bowersox v. Williams, 517 U.S. 345 (1996) in 517 U.S. 345 Original Sources, accessed November 22, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LQJFXP7WA5YACV7.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Bowersox v. Williams, 517 U.S. 345 (1996), in 517 U.S. 345, Original Sources. 22 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LQJFXP7WA5YACV7.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Bowersox v. Williams, 517 U.S. 345 (1996). cited in 1996, 517 U.S. 345. Original Sources, retrieved 22 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LQJFXP7WA5YACV7.
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