Ramdass v. Angelone, 530 U.S. 156, 26 (2000)

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Cite as: 530 U. S. 156 (2000)

O'Connor, J., concurring in judgment

conviction in Virginia state court is not a purely ministerial act, i. e., one that is inevitable and foreordained under state law. The Commonwealth allows criminal defendants to file post-trial motions following a guilty verdict, and trial courts may set aside jury verdicts in response to such motions. See ante, at 173-175. Thus, as a matter of Virginia law, a guilty verdict does not inevitably lead to the entry of a judgment order. Consequently, the jury verdict finding petitioner guilty of the Domino's Pizza robbery did not mean that petitioner would necessarily be parole ineligible under state law. Indeed, petitioner himself concedes that there was a "possibility that the Domino's Pizza trial judge could set aside the verdict under Virginia Supreme Court Rule 3A:15(b)." Brief for Petitioner 37.

Petitioner nevertheless contends that the possibility that the trial court would set aside the guilty verdict for the Domino's Pizza robbery was quite remote, and therefore that the entry of judgment was extremely likely. But, as the plurality opinion explains, Simmons does not require courts to estimate the likelihood of future contingencies concerning the defendant's parole ineligibility. Rather, Simmons entitles the defendant to inform the capital sentencing jury that he is parole ineligible where the only alternative sentence to death is life without the possibility of parole. And unlike the defendant in Simmons, Ramdass was eligible for parole under state law at the time of his sentencing.

For these reasons, I agree that petitioner is not entitled to the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus. As our decision in Williams v. Taylor makes clear, the standard of review dictated by 28 U. S. C. § 2254(d)(1) (1994 ed., Supp. III) is narrower than that applicable on direct review. Applying that standard here, I believe the Virginia Supreme Court's decision was neither contrary to, nor an unreasonable application of, our holding in Simmons. Accordingly, I concur in the judgment.

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