CA7 (11.17.04)

One published opinion today:

Perruquet v. Briley, 02-2981: A convicted murderer procedurally defaulted his due process claim by not bringing it up in state court. Though the district court said the due process claim was just a warmed-over version of Perruquet’s state law claims—and thus not cognizable on habeas review—the Seventh Circuit said it was cognizable. Nevertheless, the court concluded that Perruquet procedurally defaulted his claim: “[B]ecause no Illinois court was ever given the opportunity to pass on the merits of Perruquet’s constitutional claim, comity and federalism principles weigh strongly against permitting Perruquet to assert the claim in federal court.”