Abdul-Kabir, Fka Cole v. Quarterman

Summary

Justice Scalia, joined by Justice Thomas and joined by Justice Alito as to Part I, dissented from the judgments granting relief in these capital habeas cases. He argued that the governing precedents required only that jurors be able to consider mitigating evidence in some manner, and that the state courts' applications of those precedents were not objectively unreasonable under AEDPA. He further maintained that the Court was effectively overruling its prior precedent without acknowledging the change. Chief Justice Roberts, dissenting separately, likewise would have denied relief because the relevant law was unsettled and the state-court decisions were reasonable under AEDPA.