Michael Wayne Williams v. John Taylor, Warden

Decided April 18, 2000. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 99-6615 · 529 U.S. 420 (2000) · Cited 1,620 times

Holding

Under 2254(e)(2), as amended by AEDPA, a "fail to develop" a claim's factual basis in state court proceedings is not established unless there is lack of diligence, or some greater fault, attributable to the prisoner or his counsel.

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. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

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.

• Keeney v. Tamayo-Reyes · 504 U.S. 1 (1992)
• Brady v. Maryland · 373 U.S. 83 (1963)
• Smith v. Phillips · 455 U.S. 209 (1982)
• Coleman v. Thompson · 501 U.S. 722 (1991)
• O'Sullivan v. Boerckel · 526 U.S. 838 (1999)
• Wainwright v. Sykes · 433 U.S. 72 (1977)
• Pioneer Investment Services Co. v. Brunswick Associates Ltd. Partnership · 507 U.S. 380 (1993)
• United States v. Ron Pair Enterprises, Inc. · 489 U.S. 235 (1989)
• Lindh v. Murphy · 521 U.S. 320 (1997)
• Donnelly v. DeChristoforo · 416 U.S. 637 (1974)
• Bailey v. United States · 516 U.S. 137 (1995)
• McCleskey v. Zant · 499 U.S. 467 (1991)
• Lorillard v. Pons · 434 U.S. 575 (1978)
• Walters v. Metropolitan Educational Enterprises, Inc. · 519 U.S. 202 (1997)
• Cottage Savings Assn. v. Commissioner · 499 U.S. 554 (1991)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Shinn v. Martinez Ramirez · 596 U.S. 366 (2022)
• Schriro v. Landrigan · 550 U.S. 465 (2007)
• Wall v. Kholi · 562 U.S. 545 (2011)
• Panetti v. Quarterman · 551 U.S. 930 (2007)
• Trevino v. Thaler · 569 U.S. 413 (2013)
• Shoop v. Twyford · 596 U.S. 811 (2022)
• Miller-El v. Dretke · 545 U.S. 231 (2005)
• Miller-El v. Cockrell · 537 U.S. 322 (2003)
• Mayle v. Felix · 545 U.S. 644 (2005)
• Bradshaw v. Richey · 546 U.S. 74 (2005)
• Carey v. Saffold · 536 U.S. 214 (2002)
• Boumediene v. Bush · 553 U.S. 723 (2008)
• Jimenez v. Quarterman · 555 U.S. 113 (2009)
• Woodford v. Garceau · 538 U.S. 202 (2003)
• District Attorney's Office for the Third Judicial District v. Osborne · 557 U.S. 52 (2009)
• Dole Food Co. v. Patrickson · 538 U.S. 468 (2003)
• Holland v. Jackson · 542 U.S. 649 (2004)
• Allison Engine Co. v. United States Ex Rel. Sanders · 553 U.S. 662 (2008)
• Dean v. United States · 556 U.S. 568 (2009)
• Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas · 596 U.S. 685 (2022)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

Anthony McLeod Kennedy’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2000). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).