Shockley v. Vandergriff

Summary

Justice Sotomayor dissents from the Supreme Court's denial of certiorari, arguing that a single circuit judge's vote should be sufficient to grant a certificate of appealability under 28 U.S.C. §2253(c)(1). She contends that the Eighth Circuit's practice of allowing a panel majority to deny a certificate despite a dissenting judge's grant deprives petitioners of a rightful appeal and conflicts with the statutory text and purpose.