Shoop v. Twyford

On June 21, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Shoop v. Twyford that federal courts cannot rely on the All Writs Act to order the transportation of a state death row inmate to a medical facility for neurological testing to develop new evidence for habeas corpus proceedings. Ohio inmate Raymond Twyford, convicted of murdering Richard Hayman in 1992, sought transport for brain scans to support his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. Warden Tim Shoop opposed the order. The Supreme Court reversed the Sixth Circuit, holding that the transport order was neither “necessary or appropriate” under the All Writs Act and circumvented the strict limits on evidentiary development imposed by AEDPA. The decision limited federal judicial authority in post-conviction discovery.

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Sixth Circuit’s decision, ruling 6-3 that the transportation order exceeded the court’s authority under the All Writs Act and violated the limitations on habeas corpus evidentiary hearings set by AEDPA.

Whether the All Writs Act authorizes a federal court to order a state to transport a prisoner to a hospital for medical testing to gather evidence for a habeas corpus petition, and whether such an order conflicts with the evidentiary restrictions of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA).

The ruling curtailed the ability of federal courts to assist death row inmates in developing new evidence during habeas proceedings, reinforcing state convictions' finality and strictly limiting the use of the All Writs Act in post-conviction challenges.