Pending decisions in the Supreme Court

Here is the promised summary of pending decisions in the Supreme Court's OT06 term. There are three cases remaining by my count - please send me an email if I missed one. For each case, I will quote the granted question presented.

Uttecht v. Brown, 06-413

Question Presented:

In Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412 (1985), and Darden v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 168
(1986), this Court held that a state trial judge may, without setting forth any explicit
findings or conclusions, remove a juror for cause when the judge determines the
juror’s views on the death penalty would substantially impair his or her ability to
follow the law and perform the duties of a juror. The Court further held that a federal
habeas court reviewing the decision to remove the juror must defer to the trial
judge’s ability to observe the juror’s demeanor and credibility, and apply the
statutory presumption of correctness to the judge’s implicit factual determination of
the juror’s substantial impairment.
Did the Ninth Circuit err by not deferring to the trial judge’s observations and by not
applying the statutory presumption of correctness in ruling that the state court
decision to remove a juror was contrary to clearly established federal law?

Fry v. Pliler, 06-5247

Question Presented:

If constitutional error in a state trial is not recognized by the judiciary until the
case ends up in federal court under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, is the prejudicial impact of
the error assessed under the standard set forth in Chapman v. California, 386 U.S.
18 (1967), or that enunciated in Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619 (1993)? Does
it matter which harmless error standard is employed? And, if the Brecht standard
applies, does the petitioner or the State bear the burden of persuasion on the
question of prejudice?

Panetti v. Quarterman 06-6407

Question Presented:

Does the Eighth Amendment permit the execution of a death row inmate who has a
factual awareness of the reason for his execution but who, because of severe
mental illness, has a delusional belief as to why the state is executing him, and thus
does not appreciate that his execution is intended to seek retribution for his capital
crime?

THE PARTIES ARE DIRECTED TO FILE SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEFS
ADDRESSING THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: MUST PETITIONER’S HABEAS
APPLICATION BE DISMISSED AS “SECOND OR SUCCESSIVE” PURSUANT TO
28 U. S. C. §2244?