No. 20-1084October Term 2020Decided Jul 2, 2021Updated Jul 2, 2021
Dunn v. Reeves
This case involves a death-row inmate’s claim that his trial lawyers were ineffective at sentencing because they did not present expert evidence about his alleged intellectual disability.
Case status
Decided · July 2, 2021
Read the opinion (PDF)- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Jul 2, 2021
- What it's about
This case involves a death-row inmate’s claim that his trial lawyers were ineffective at sentencing because they did not present expert evidence about his alleged intellectual disability. The Supreme Court was asked whether the Eleventh Circuit gave too little deference to the Alabama court when it treated that court’s reasoning as a blanket rule barring relief whenever a prisoner does not call his trial counsel to testify.
Question presented
Whether the Eleventh Circuit violated § 2254(d) by readily attributing error to the state court.
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit / Decision released Jul 2, 2021
- Area
Criminal Procedure
Timing
Decided July 2, 2021
The Court released its decision on July 2, 2021 without hearing oral argument.
Documents
Activity
Docket activity2
Opinion added: opinion
Jul 2, 2021 | Court records
Brief added: Petition
Feb 5, 2021 | Court records
Related cases




Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 25, 2026
- Method
- Methodology