Kenneth R. Isom, Petitioner v. Arkansas

The Supreme Court declined to hear Kenneth Isom's appeal over whether Judge Sam Pope's past fights with him as a prosecutor created too much risk of bias when Pope later oversaw Isom's postconviction hearing. That left the Arkansas Supreme Court's result in place and did not answer the constitutional question on the merits.

The Court declined review on Nov. 25, 2019, and the justices did not hear argument. No vote count or opinion lineup is provided in the record here.

For Isom, it means no Supreme Court review of his claim that he did not get a fair hearing. More broadly, people arguing that a judge's earlier role as prosecutor makes a later case unfair got no new national rule from the Court.

This Supreme Court docket action is over. Because the Court declined certiorari (review), the Arkansas result remains in effect.

It asked whether Judge Sam Pope's past battles with Kenneth Isom created an unconstitutional risk of bias. Pope had earlier prosecuted Isom several times and tried to revoke his parole.

Isom is directly affected because he did not get Supreme Court review of his fair-hearing claim. Other defendants with similar bias claims got no new nationwide rule.

Nothing further happens in this Supreme Court docket action. The Court declined certiorari (review), so the Arkansas outcome stays in place.