Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued her first official opinion on Monday, writing that the high court should have reviewed the case of an Ohio death row inmate challenging his execution.
In the two-page dissent, Justice Jackson noted that Davel Chinn’s petition to have his capital case reviewed should have been granted because the state did not turn over potentially innocence-proving evidence to his lawyers at trial. Under current Supreme Court precedent, prosecutors must disclose material evidence to defense lawyers ahead of trial so as not to run afoul of a defendant’s constitutional rights.
Justice Jackson was joined in her dissent by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. It would have taken four justices to vote in favor of hearing Chinn’s case for his appeal to be granted.
Specifically, the prosecutors were accused in Chinn’s case of not revealing that the state’s key witness had an intellectual disability that would have affected his memory — or as Justice Jackson put it, his ability to “perceive fact from fiction, and testify accurately.”
“Because Chinn’s life is on the line, and given the substantial likelihood that the suppressed records would have changed the outcome at trial based on the Ohio courts’ own representations … I would summarily reverse to ensure that the Sixth Circuit conducts its materiality analysis under the proper standard,” Justice Jackson wrote.
It was her first written opinion since joining the court to replace Justice Stephen Breyer, who retired in June.
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Chinn was convicted of the 1989 robbery, kidnapping and murder of Bryan Jones. Chinn allegedly wanted to steal money and a vehicle from Jones. He shot him in the arm, piercing a main artery that led to Jones’ death.
Chinn is housed at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution, according to court records.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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