In McNair v. Campbell, No. 04-11400 (July 13, 2005), the Court denied habeas relief to an Alabama inmate sentenced to death for a 1990 murder.
The Court held that the defendant was not entitled to an evidentiary hearing concerning his ineffective assistance of counsel claim, and that the trial court erred in relying on evidence developed at its federal evidentiary hearing in support of its decision granting habeas relief. The Court pointed out that the defendant had not been "diligent" in his post-conviction proceedings in state court in developing evidence in support of an ineffectiveness claim. Consequently, he was now barred under 28 U.S.C. sec. 2254(e)(2) from attempting to develop this evidence later, in federal court.
The Court also rejected McNair’s challenge to his conviction based on the fact that the jury took a Bible back to the jury room. The Court found that this claim was not preserved in state court, and even had it been, it would not have entitled him to prevail in light of the strong evidence against him. The Court rejected the argument that the State had waived its reliance on the procedural bar, noting that under AEDPA, an affirmative waiver was required – which did not occur here.
Finally, the Court rejected the Batson challenge to the jury selection, finding no impropriety in the striking of individual jurors, and no evidence that an alleged practice by the local prosecutor of systematically striking blacks affected McNair’s jury selection.
