Ayestas v. Davis

Decided March 21, 2018. Samuel A. Alito Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 16-6795 · 584 U.S. 28 (2018) · Cited 97 times

Holding

The District Court’s denial of petitioner’s request for funding for “reasonably necessary” services of experts, investigators, and the like, 18 U. S. C. §3599(f), to develop his claim that both his trial and state habeas counsel were ineffective was a judicial decision subject to appellate review under the standard jurisdictional provisions; the Fifth Circuit did not apply the correct legal standard in affirming the denial of that request.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Martinez v. Ryan · 566 U.S. 1 (2012)
• Porter v. McCollum · 558 U.S. 30 (2009)
• Hohn v. United States · 524 U.S. 236 (1998)
• Strickland v. Washington · 466 U.S. 668 (1984)
• Wiggins v. Smith, Warden · 539 U.S. 510 (2003)
• Trevino v. Thaler · 569 U.S. 413 (2013)
• Rompilla v. Beard · 545 U.S. 374 (2005)
• Commissioner v. Tellier · 383 U.S. 687 (1966)
• Slack v. McDaniel · 529 U.S. 473 (2000)
• Miller-El v. Cockrell · 537 U.S. 322 (2003)
• Williams v. Taylor · 529 U.S. 362 (2000)
• Gonzalez v. Thaler · 565 U.S. 134 (2012)
• Atkins v. Virginia · 536 U.S. 304 (2002)
• Aetna Life Insurance v. Haworth · 300 U.S. 227 (1937)
• Forrester v. White · 484 U.S. 219 (1988)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc. · 514 U.S. 211 (1995)
• Ullmann v. United States · 350 U.S. 422 (1956)
• Dalia v. United States · 441 U.S. 238 (1979)
• Harbison v. Bell · 556 U.S. 180 (2009)
• United States v. Monsanto · 491 U.S. 600 (1989)
• Bond v. United States · 564 U.S. 211 (2011)
• Tutun v. United States · 270 U.S. 568 (1926)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2018). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).