Bobby Cutts, Jr. v. Keith Smith, 630 F. App'x 505

Bobby Lee Cutts, Jr. was tried in Ohio for the aggravated murders of Jessie Davis and her unborn child and related offenses; jury convicted on murder and other counts and imposed an aggregate sentence of 57 years to life.
During jury selection, three venire members disclosed they had assisted in the community search for the missing victim; the trial court denied removal for cause and one of those jurors was seated after peremptory challenges were exhausted.
Cutts did not assert actual juror bias at trial; his claim on collateral review was that the juror’s participation in the search gave rise to implied bias requiring automatic disqualification.
The Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed; the Ohio Supreme Court denied review and the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari. Cutts filed a federal habeas petition raising multiple claims; the district court denied relief and issued a COA limited to the implied-bias claim regarding the search-participating juror.
The Sixth Circuit reviewed under AEDPA, focusing on whether the state court decision was contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established Supreme Court law regarding implied juror bias.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a juror’s participation in a search for the victim requires automatic disqualification under implied-bias doctrine	Cutts: Participation in the search created an emotional attachment to the victim and a strong likelihood of partiality, warranting implied bias and removal	State: Implied-bias doctrine is not clearly established for AEDPA purposes; at minimum, the connection here is not the type of extreme relationship that mandates automatic disqualification	Court: Affirmed denial of habeas relief — implied-bias doctrine is not clearly established under §2254; even if it were, these facts do not meet the extreme standard to presume bias

Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362 (2000) (AEDPA §2254(d) standard and scope of "clearly established Federal law")
Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209 (1982) (due process and post-trial inquiry into juror bias; caution against automatic new trials)
Turner v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 466 (1965) (implied bias where law enforcement witnesses had social ties with jurors)
Remmer v. United States, 347 U.S. 227 (1954) (private communications with jurors are presumptively prejudicial)
Dennis v. United States, 339 U.S. 162 (1950) (refusal to apply automatic disqualification for jurors who are government employees)
Pannetti v. Quarterman, 551 U.S. 930 (2007) (courts may apply general principles beyond precise Supreme Court scenarios when warranted)
Renico v. Lett, 559 U.S. 766 (2010) ( Sixth Circuit panel holdings about clearly established law bind later panels in §2254 review)