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Petitioner Anthony Wainwright, a Florida prisoner with an imminent execution date, had a right under Florida state law to file a state habeas petition and petition for a stay of execution. Through his pro bono counsel of choice鈥攅xperienced capital post-conviction counsel who had long represented him in previous federal habeas proceedings鈥擬r. Wainwright exercised that right by filing a state habeas petition that was timely under the state supreme court鈥檚 scheduling order and complied with all governing state habeas laws and procedures. The Supreme Court of Florida struck that petition solely on the ground that it was not signed by Mr. Wainwright鈥檚 state-assigned counsel, who had refused Mr. Wainwright鈥檚 direction to file it. This decision arbitrarily blocked Mr. Wainwright鈥檚 access to the courts on the eve of his execution and violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The 吃瓜直播 and 吃瓜直播 of Florida filed an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court in support of Mr. Wainwright鈥檚 petition for a writ of certiorari. They argued that the state supreme court鈥檚 refusal to accept his petition merely because his state-assigned attorney did not sign it, and the trial court鈥檚 denial of his motion to substitute his experienced capital post-conviction counsel of choice for that state-assigned attorney, violated due process.

The petition also highlighted the well-documented, broader defects of Florida鈥檚 鈥渞egistry鈥� counsel system. Mr. Wainwright鈥檚 assigned attorney was appointed through this registry system, and the context for the constitutional issues raised in his case鈥攔egistry counsel鈥檚 refusal to file or co-sign the state habeas petition, the State鈥檚 vigorous opposition to Mr. Wainwright鈥檚 motion to substitute his experienced counsel of choice, and the state court鈥檚 denial of Mr. Wainwright鈥檚 substitution motion鈥攁re part of a system in which the State forces individuals under a death sentence to be represented by assigned counsel, and a larger pattern of those unaccountable registry lawyers waiving claims, filing the wrong claims at the wrong time, and lacking the adequate training needed to represent people condemned to be executed by the State. These defects in the registry system have been documented by the Florida legislature鈥檚 research agency, the Office for Program Policy and Government Accountability, state judges including justices of the Supreme Court of Florida, and the American Bar Association.

Although these issues are of broad importance for individuals sentenced to death in Florida, the Supreme Court denied review, and Mr. Wainwright was executed, on June 10, 2025.