Michael Jeffrey Johnson v. Ralph Coyle, Warden

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• holding that no rational juror could have found the defendant guilty of kidnapping when the government did not present any evidence of kidnapping as defined by state law
• recounting that “Johnson is the last person known to have seen [his victim] alive” and that “[h]e was angry with her just after he saw her”
• recognizing Quinn and therefore considering — with respect to a habeas challenge claiming insufficient evidence — hearsay that the state supreme court had held to be improperly admitted at trial
• stating that “[c]ircumstantial evidence alone is sufficient to support a conviction” (quotation omitted)
• petitioner’s identity as murderer supported in part by evidence that he confessed several times to murdering his sister
• petitioner’s identity as murderer supported in part by evidence that he confessed several times to murdering sister

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).