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Darden v. Wainwright, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections
Citations: 473 U.S. 928; 106 S. Ct. 21; 87 L. Ed. 2d 699; 54 U.S.L.W. 3169; 1985 U.S. LEXIS 2878Docket: 85-5319 (A-181)
Court: Supreme Court of the United States; September 3, 1985; Federal Supreme Court; Federal Appellate Court
The Supreme Court of the United States granted Willie Jasper Darden's application for a stay of execution pending the resolution of his petition for a writ of certiorari. The motion to proceed in forma pauperis was also granted, and the previous denial of the stay application was vacated. Justice Powell concurred with the stay, noting that despite finding no merit in Darden's claims—which had been repeatedly rejected by lower courts, including recent decisions from both the Federal District Court and the Eleventh Circuit—he felt compelled to support the stay due to the capital nature of the case and the unusual circumstance of the Justices being geographically scattered. Chief Justice Burger dissented, emphasizing that the issues raised had already been reviewed multiple times by the Court and had been considered over 95 times by various federal and state judges. He argued that there were no new issues warranting the Court's review and criticized the decision to grant a stay for what he deemed meritless claims. Justices White, Rehnquist, and O'Connor also expressed their dissent regarding the stay application.