840
Per Curiam
When the Pennsylvania Supreme Court replied that the ruling " 'merely clarified the plain language of the statute,' " ibid., the question on which we originally granted certiorari disappeared. Pennsylvania's answer revealed the "simple, inevitable conclusion" that Fiore's conviction violated due process. Id., at 229. It has long been established by this Court that "the Due Process Clause . . . forbids a State to convict a person of a crime without proving the elements of that crime beyond a reasonable doubt." Id., at 228-229. Because Pennsylvania law—as interpreted by the later State Supreme Court decision—made clear that Fiore's conduct did not violate an element of the statute, his conviction did not satisfy the strictures of the Due Process Clause. Consequently, "retroactivity [was] not at issue." Id., at 226.
Fiore controls the result here. As Justice Pariente stated in dissent, "application of the due process principles of Fiore" may render a retroactivity analysis "unnecessary." 833 So. 2d, at 747. The question here is not just one of retroactivity. Rather, as Fiore holds, "retroactivity is not at issue" if the Florida Supreme Court's interpretation of the "common pocketknife" exception in L. B. is "a correct statement of the law when [Bunkley's] conviction became final." 531 U. S., at 226. The proper question under Fiore is not whether the law has changed. Rather, Fiore requires that the Florida Supreme Court answer whether, in light of L. B., Bunkley's pocketknife of 21/2 to 3 inches fit within § 790.001(13)'s "common pocketknife" exception at the time his conviction became final.
Although the Florida Supreme Court has determined that the L. B. decision was merely an "evolutionary refinement" in the meaning of the "common pocketknife" exception, it has not answered whether the law in 1989 defined Bunkley's 21/2-to 3-inch pocketknife as a "weapon" under § 790.001(13). Although the L. B. decision might have "culminat[ed] . . . [the] century-long evolutionary process," the question remains about what § 790.001(13) meant in 1989. 833 So. 2d, at 745.
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007