Lackawanna County District Attorney v. Coss

Lackawanna County District Attorney v. Coss
Argued February 20, 2001
Decided April 25, 2001
Full case nameLackawanna County District Attorney, et al., Petitioners v. Edward R. Coss, Jr.
Citations532 U.S. 394 (more)
121 S. Ct. 1567; 149 L. Ed. 2d 608
Case history
PriorDefendant convicted sub. nom. Commonwealth v. Coss, 695 A.2d 831 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1997); petition for habeas relief denied, n°94-cv-01481 (M.D. Pa.); reversed and remanded, 204 F.3d 453 (3rd Cir. 2000); cert. granted, 531 U.S. 923 (2000).
Holding
Habeas relief is unavailable to state prisoners who challenge a sentence on the ground that it was enhanced on an unconstitutional prior conviction.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
David Souter · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
MajorityO'Connor, joined by Rehnquist, Kennedy; Scalia (all but Parts III–B & III–C); Thomas (all but Part III–B)
DissentSouter, joined by Stevens, Ginsburg
DissentBreyer
Laws applied
28 U.S.C. § 2254

Lackawanna County District Attorney v. Coss, 532 U.S. 394 (2001), was a United States Supreme Court case. The case concerned a federal prisoner who sought to challenge his current sentence by arguing it was enhanced based on an unconstitutional prior conviction. A divided Court held that such challenges could not be brought. The decision was based on a reading of the statute in question, not a Sixth Amendment constitutional analysis.