⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Ninth Circuit revisits a Nevada death sentence. In 1982, Cary Williams broke into Katherine Carlson's Reno home. Carlson was eight months pregnant; Williams stabbed her, and both she and her unborn child died. He pleaded guilty to burglary, murder, and manslaughter, and three judges sentenced him to death. Two of the four aggravating factors—statutory reasons weighed toward death—were later struck, but the sentence stood. In 2018, this court ordered a hearing on whether Williams's trial lawyer failed to investigate childhood abuse and trauma as mitigating evidence—facts that might have supported a life sentence. The district court held that hearing and denied relief. Williams says the omitted evidence could have changed the sentence; Nevada disagrees. First, the panel must decide which evidence a federal habeas court may consider when reviewing a state conviction. Under Section 2254(e)(2) and the Supreme Court's Shinn versus Martinez Ramirez ruling, a prisoner's failure to develop facts in state court can sharply limit new federal evidence. Williams also says his lawyer misunderstood the felony-murder consequences of his burglary plea; Nevada says the pleas were knowing and voluntary. Randolph Fiedler, a federal public defender, will argue first for Williams; Katrina Lopez, a Nevada deputy attorney general, will respond for the state.

Cary Williams v. William Gittere (No. 23-99006) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued September 29, 2026.