Washington v. Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections — 11th Cir. (argued August 12, 2026)
The Eleventh Circuit reviews Charlie Washington's federal habeas challenge to his Alabama death sentence. Washington says his trial lawyers failed to investigate and present available mitigation before the jury recommended death by a ten-to-two vote. Alabama says the omitted evidence was weak or damaging and the sentencing judge later said it would not have changed the sentence. The court also considers Washington's claim that AEDPA deference to state-court rulings violates Article Three after Loper Bright; Alabama and the United States defend the statute.
Washington v. Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections (No. 24-13905) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, argued August 12, 2026.
Sources
Argument audio — Eleventh Circuit:https://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/oral_argument_recordings/24-13905_08122026.mp3
Argument record — Eleventh Circuit:https://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/node/7108
Special-hearing calendar — Eleventh Circuit:https://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/special_hearings/24-13905_CAL_CWashington.pdf
Special-hearing page — Eleventh Circuit:https://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/node/7049
Federal habeas decision — Middle District of Alabama:https://ecf.almd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2014cv0060-59
Certificate-of-appealability order — Middle District of Alabama:https://ecf.almd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2014cv0060-74
State post-conviction decision — Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals:https://law.justia.com/cases/alabama/court-of-appeals-criminal/2012/cr-07-1351.html
Mitigation scholars' amicus brief:https://www.macarthurjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Washington_Amicus-Brief.pdf
28 U.S.C. § 2254 — U.S. House of Representatives:https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&num=0&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title28-section2254
Strickland v. Washington — Library of Congress:https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep466/usrep466668/usrep466668.pdf
Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo — Supreme Court:https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-451_7m58.pdf
Published-opinion search — Eleventh Circuit:https://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/search-published-opinions
Unpublished-opinion search — Eleventh Circuit:https://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/search-unpublished-opinions
- 0:00Introduction
- 1:36The Strickland Standard
- 5:22Alabama Rule 32
- 6:16AEDPA Deference