Coleman v. Johnson, 132 S. Ct. 2060

Johnson was convicted as an accomplice and co-conspirator in the murder of Taraja Williams by Corey Walker, who shot Williams in an alley in Harrisburg, PA, December 15, 1995.
Walker and Johnson were tried jointly; Johnson’s liability arose from accomplice and conspiracy statutes under Pennsylvania law.
Trial testimony showed Walker’s threats to kill Williams and Johnson’s presence during earlier debt-collection confrontation.
Witnesses described Williams being escorted toward an alley where a shotgun was fired; a shotgun with a missing barrel was found at the scene.
The Third Circuit reversed, holding the evidence insufficient under Jackson v. Virginia and requiring reweighing of inferences.
The Supreme Court granted certiorari and reversed, holding the evidence was constitutionally sufficient under the Jackson framework and deferential AEDPA review.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence to convict Johnson as accomplice/co-conspirator	Johnson argues evidence fails under Jackson	Commonwealth contends evidence supports liability	Evidence sufficient under Jackson and AEDPA standards

Cavazos v. Smith, 565 U.S. 1 (2011) (deferential standard on habeas review; two layers of deference)
Renico v. Lett, 559 U.S. _ (2010) (AEDPA deference applies to state-court sufficiency rulings)
Commonwealth v. McFarland, 452 Pa. 435, 308 A.2d 592 (Pa. 1973) (source for permissible inferences in Pa. law)
Commonwealth v. Bostick, 958 A.2d 543 (Pa. Super. 2008) (principles on inferential reasoning and jury factfinding)
Commonwealth v. Montalvo, 598 Pa. 263, 956 A.2d 926 (Pa. 2008) (conspiracy liability for overt acts in furtherance of an agreed crime)