SCOTUS To Hear Two Crim Cases Today

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the following two cases today:

Halbert v. Michigan, No. 03-10198.  Questions presented:  (1) Does Michigan's law and practice of not appointing counsel to indigent defendants convicted by guilty plea, violate a defendant's 14th Amendment right to due process? (2) Is a defendant entitled to resentencing, where counsel failed to render effective assistance by not objecting to improper scoring under Michigan's sentencing guidelines which resulted in a considerably longer sentence?  Details . . .  To be argued by Wayne State CrimProf David Moran; NYT editorial here.

Gonzalez v. Crosby, No. 04-6432.  Question presented: Whether the court of appeals erred in holding that every Rule 60(b) motion [other than for fraud under (b(3)] constitutes a prohibited "second or successive" petition as a matter of law?  Details . . .  [Mark Godsey]