Harbison v. Bell

Summary

Justice Stevens, joined by Justices Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer, held that no certificate of appealability is required to appeal an order denying federally appointed counsel and that 18 U.S.C. §3599 authorizes federally funded representation in state clemency proceedings. The Court reversed the Sixth Circuit. Chief Justice Roberts concurred in the judgment, agreeing that state clemency representation is covered while emphasizing that later state judicial proceedings are new proceedings rather than subsequent stages of federal habeas litigation. Justice Thomas separately concurred in the judgment, relying on the statutory text and objecting to resolving the statute’s application to other state proceedings. Justice Scalia, joined by Justice Alito, agreed on the certificate-of-appealability question but dissented on clemency representation, construing the statute to cover only proceedings in a federal forum.