Today in Supreme Court History: October 6

Lopez v. Smith, 574 U.S. 1 (decided October 6, 2014): Court grants cert and upholds state murder conviction where prosecution switched theories at end of trial (defendant aided and abetted murder of wife instead of directly wielding metal bar that killed her); Ninth Circuit had relied on its own precedent, which prohibited such practices, in granting habeas, but 1996 statute restricting habeas only to where state court misapplied federal law refers only to federal law established by the Court (which has been silent on this issue) (this strikes me as odd; Thomas, who wrote the opinion, seems to be saying only SCOTUS can declare federal law — but if a federal law issue is totally settled and universally accepted, it might never have gotten considered by SCOTUS because no one bothered to litigate it, or there never was a split of authority for the Court to resolve)