Martin v. Symmes

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Martin v. Symmes, 820 F.3d 1012 (8th Cir. 2016)
2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 8053; 2016 WL 2342812

Martin v. Symmes

Opinion of the Court

BENTON, Circuit Judge.

This case is before this court orí remand from the United States Supreme Court. LaMonte Rydell Martin was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. He was' 17 years-old at the time of the murder. Martin argues his sentence is in violation of the -Eighth Amendment, citing Miller v. Alabama, — U.S. -, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012). This court disagreed, holding Miller does not apply retroactively to cases on collateral review. Martin v. Symmes, 782 F.3d 939 (8th Cir. 2015).

In Martin v. Smith, - U.S. -, 136 S.Ct. 1365, 194 L.Ed.2d 347 (2016), the Supreme Court granted certiorari and vacated this .court’s earlier judgmerit based on the Montgomery case. See Montgomery v. Louisiana, — U.S. -, 136 S.Ct. 718, 193 L.Ed.2d 599 (2016) (ruling Miller applies retroactively to, cases on collateral review).

*1013This court vacates Part I of its previous opinion while reaffirming Part II. The previous judgment is vacated and the case remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Reference

Full Case Name
LaMonte Rydell MARTIN v. Jessica SYMMES, Warden, Oak Park Heights Facility, Minnesota, Juvenile Law Center Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth Children's Law Center of Los Angeles Council on Crime and Justice Defender Association of Philadelphia Isaiah Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana Juvenile Justice Initiative Legal Rights Center National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers National Center for Youth Law National Juvenile Defender Center National Juvenile Justice Network National Legal Aid & Defender Association The Orleans Public Defenders The Pacific Juvenile Defender Center The Public Defender Service for the Rutgers School of Law—Camden Children's Justice Clinic San Francisco Office of the Public Defender Youth Law Center Stephen K. Harper Kristin Henning Frank Vandervort, Amici on Behalf of Appellant(s)
Cited By
2 cases
Status
Published