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Circuit split · criminal procedure

Whether harmless-error analysis is available on federal habeas review where the error involves submission to the jury of an unconstitutionally vague aggravating circumstance in a capital case

1 federal appellate case on this question, each acknowledging the disagreement in its own words.

  1. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals · September 4, 2002

    “Although we have acknowledged a circuit split on the issue; we have ’specifically held that harmless-error analysis “is available to us on federal habeas 'review where the error involves the submission to the jury of an unconstitutionally vague aggravating circumstance.” — Acknowledges a circuit split
    Empirical analysis of this case →

The other side of the split

Decisions the acknowledging court(s) named as the opposing or joined side, quoted in the acknowledging opinion's own words.

What the split turns on

Anchor precedents:
Clemons110 S.Ct. 1441 ·
Brecht507 U.S. 623
Doctrines & tests:
harmless-error analysis ·
reweighing analysis ·
Brecht standard

Cases are grouped by the legal question they announce a split on, classified from the court's own acknowledgment sentence. Verified acknowledgments only. Counter-side decisions are extracted from the acknowledging opinions' own text and linked only when the citation resolves in this corpus. See all circuit splits.