| Lackawanna County District Attorney v. Coss | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued February 20, 2001 Decided April 25, 2001 | |
| Full case name | Lackawanna County District Attorney, et al., Petitioners v. Edward R. Coss, Jr. |
| Citations | 532 U.S. 394 (more) 121 S. Ct. 1567; 149 L. Ed. 2d 608 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Defendant 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 | |
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| Case opinions | |
| Majority | O'Connor, joined by Rehnquist, Kennedy; Scalia (all but Parts III–B & III–C); Thomas (all but Part III–B) |
| Dissent | Souter, joined by Stevens, Ginsburg |
| Dissent | Breyer |
| 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.