Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (March 2022)

This post summarizes published criminal and related decisions released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during March 2022. Decisions that may be of interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous Fourth Circuit case summaries are available here. Counsel’s failure to object to improper prison conditions evidence at penalty phase was deficient performance but did not prejudice the petitioner; death verdict affirmed Wood v. Stirling, 27 F.4th 269 (Mar. 2, 2022). The petitioner was convicted of the murder of a police officer and other offenses in this South Carolina death penalty habeas case. During the penalty phase, the State presented evidence of the conditions of general population and the privileges enjoyed by inmates there, contrasting it with the much more restrictive conditions of death row. Defense counsel did not object to this evidence, despite it being improper under state law. On cross-examination, the defense elicited testimony about the risks to inmates similar to the petitioner while serving a life sentence in general population. During its case-in-chief, the defense presented mitigation evidence of the petitioner’s mental health conditions and of his adaptability to prison, including the lack of risk he would pose to prison staff. The State emphasized the privileges of general population in closing, again without defense objection. The jury returned a death verdict, and the case was affirmed on direct appeal. At state post-conviction, the petitioner argued ineffective assistance of counsel based on the failure of his attorneys to object to the prison conditions evidence. The state post-conviction court [...]