Dennis v. Sec’y, Pa. Dep’t of Corr., No. 13-9003 (3d Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of first-degree murder. The jury sentenced Defendant to death. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed the convictions on appeal, thus rejecting Defendant’s claims that the prosecution violated Brady v. Maryland. The Supreme Court subsequently denied Defendant’s application for postconviction relief. Thereafter, Defendant filed an application under 28 U.S.C. 2254 in federal district court, raising several claims. The district court granted Defendant a conditional writ of habeas corpus and directed the Commonwealth to retry Defendant or release him, concluding that the prosecution had breached its obligations under Brady by withholding three pieces of exculpatory and material information. The Third Circuit vacated the district court’s order, holding that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reasonably concluded that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his Brady claims. Remanded for consideration of Defendant’s remaining claims.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on May 6, 2015.
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