Fifth Circuit -- Bobby Smith v. Burl Cain, Warden

Common law limitation on new evidentiary hearings for Habeas challenges does not apply if the Federal court, looking at the state court record, determines that the state court unreasonably applied federal law -- here, in the context of a Batson challenge.

No purposeful discrimination here, mainly for lack of comparators.

Bobby Smith v. Burl Cain, Warden