Black v. Workman, No. 10-6062 (10th Cir. 2012)
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Defendant Johnny Black was convicted of first-degree murder and battery with a dangerous weapon. On the recommendation of the jury, Defendant received a death sentence on the first-degree murder conviction. After unsuccessfully appealing to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (OCCA) and pursuing two postconviction proceedings in state court, Defendant unsuccessfully applied for relief under 28 U.S.C. 2254 in the Oklahoma federal district court. Defendant appealed the district court's decision, raising 14 claims of error at trial, including ineffective assistance of counsel. On the first eight claims, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court on the merits generally because the OCCA did not unreasonably apply federal law in rejecting these claims. On the remaining claims the district court denied relief on the ground of procedural bar. Before the Court could determine whether it agreed with the district court, the Court needed to resolve a question of Oklahoma procedural law: whether Oklahoma's bar of Defendant's second postconviction application was independent of federal law or instead required the OCCA to examine the merits of Defendant's federal constitutional claims. The Court therefore certified a question of state law to the OCCA, abating this appeal pending consideration by the OCCA of the Tenth Circuit's certification request.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on October 18, 2012.
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