Matthew Marshall, Petitioner v. Julie L. Jones

Summary

The court denied Marshall’s habeas petition because his death sentence became final before the constitutional decision that required jury findings in capital sentencing, so he was not entitled to relief under the court’s existing precedent. The majority did not reconsider the validity of the judicial override under the preexisting state-law standard. Chief Justice Labarga, dissenting and joined by Justice Pariente, would have granted relief because the trial court improperly overrode the jury’s life recommendation under the stringent override standard.