Tabler v. Lumpkin

The federal writ of habeas corpus provides a remedy for state prisoners who can show that they are in custody in violation of their federal rights, including the right to effective assistance of counsel at trial. Federal courts, however, out of respect for state courts’ procedures, will not grant relief if the state courts denied the claim because a petitioner did not comply with a state procedural rule.

Texas death row prisoner Richard Tabler asked a federal court for a new penalty trial because he received ineffective assistance from his trial lawyers. The federal court, however, refused to hear his claim because he had dropped his litigation of the same claim in state court. But Mr. Tabler, who suffers from severe mental impairments, dropped his state appeals in a hearing at which his appointed lawyers refused to participate, leaving him without legal representation.

Our petition asks the Supreme Court to decide whether Mr. Tabler’s abandonment by his attorneys at a key hearing should “excuse” his non-compliance with a state procedural rule, and thus allow the federal court to review his federal claim: that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance under the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution.