Coleman v. Thompson

501 U.S. 722, 765 (1991)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Coleman was convicted of rape and capital murder and sentenced to death. The Virginia Supreme Court affirmed both the convictions and the sentence. P filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Circuit Court raising federal constitutional claims that he had not raised on direct appeal. The Court ruled against P on all claims. P filed his notice of appeal with the Circuit Court on October 7, 1986, 33 days after the entry of the final judgment. P filed a petition for appeal in the Virginia Supreme Court. Virginia Supreme Court Rule 5:9(a) provides that no appeal shall be allowed unless a notice of appeal is filed with the trial court within 30 days of final judgment. It dismissed P’s appeal. P filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the District Court. P presented four federal constitutional claims he had raised on direct appeal in the Virginia Supreme Court and seven claims he had raised for the first time in state habeas. The District Court concluded that P had procedurally defaulted on the seven claims. The District Court went on to address the merits of all 11 of P's claims. The court ruled against P on all of the claims and denied the petition. The Court of Appeals affirmed. P had defaulted all of the claims that he had presented for the first time in state habeas. The Fourth Circuit held that the Virginia Supreme Court's decision rested on independent and adequate state grounds and that P had not shown cause to excuse the default. P appealed.