Supreme Court of the United States

Sowden v. United States

January 9, 2012565 U.S. 1138

Summary

Justice Sotomayor respectfully disagrees with the denial of certiorari, agreeing with the Court's decision not to review the Ninth Circuit's judgment. She argues that the state court's factual findings were unreasonable under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, given evidence of Sidney Storch's history as a jailhouse informant. Justice Scalia dissents, arguing the Ninth Circuit ignored deferential standards and incorrectly found the state court's factual determinations unreasonable.