Wainwright v. Sykes

Mr. Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

We granted certiorari to consider the availability of federal habeas corpus to review a state convict’s claim that testimony was admitted at his trial in violation of his rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436 (1966), a claim which the Florida courts have previously refused to consider on the merits because of noncompliance with a state contemporaneous-objection rule. Petitioner Wainwright, on behalf of the State of Florida, here challenges a decision of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ordering a hearing in state court on the merits of respondent’s contention.

Respondent Sykes was convicted of third-degree murder after a jury trial in the Circuit Court of DeSoto County. He testified at trial that on the evening of January 8, 1972, he told his wife to summon the police because he had just shot Willie Gilbert. Other evidence indicated that when the police arrived at respondent’s trailer home, they found Gilbert dead of a shotgun wound, lying a few feet from the front porch. Shortly after their arrival, respondent came from across the road and volunteered that he had shot Gilbert, and a few minutes later respondent’s wife approached the police and told them the same thing. Sykes was immediately arrested and taken to the police station.