Brief Fact Summary. Defendant sentenced to death by a corrupt judge pressed a judicial-bias claim.
Synopsis of Rule of Law. If a defendant can demonstrate “good cause” for discovery in a judicial-bias claim, he may then rebut the presumption that the judge “properly discharged their official duties.”
Issue. “Whether petitioner is entitled to discovery under [the Habeas Corpus rules] to support his judicial-bias claim.”
Held. Yes. The Supreme Court prefaced its holding by listing the tangled history of Maloney’s corruption, concluding that “if it could be proved.