Walls v. Buss

In 1987, petitioner burglarized a home and murdered the two people inside. Petitioner, now a death-row inmate, appealed the district court's denial of his section 2254 petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The court held that petitioner had pointed to no Supreme Court precedent establishing that the Florida Supreme Court's decision, that petitioner's trial lawyers had performed well enough, was contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law, or that it was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts. The court also held that the Florida Supreme Court's decision rejecting petitioner's Batson claim was neither contrary to, nor an unreasonable application of, federal law as determined by the United States Supreme Court. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's denial of habeas relief.