Brown v. Davenport

Summary

Justice Gorsuch, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, held that a federal court may grant habeas relief on a claim adjudicated on the merits in state court only if the prisoner satisfies both Brecht’s prejudice standard and AEDPA’s requirements. Assuming Davenport satisfied Brecht, the Court concluded that he could not satisfy AEDPA because the Michigan court’s harmless-error determination was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established Supreme Court law. It reversed the Sixth Circuit’s judgment granting relief. Justice Kagan, joined by Justices Breyer and Sotomayor, dissented, arguing that Fry and Ayala established that Brecht subsumes AEDPA’s harmless-error inquiry and that separately applying both tests creates unnecessary work. She also disputed the majority’s historical account of habeas review. Outside confirmation could not be performed because no external research tool was available.