Holding: When a state court has ruled on the merits of a state prisoner’s claim, a federal court cannot grant habeas relief without applying both the test the Supreme Court outlined in Brecht v. Abrahamson and the one Congress prescribed in the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit erred in granting habeas relief to Ervine Davenport based solely on its assessment that he could satisfy the Brecht standard.
Judgment: Reversed, 6-3, in an opinion by Justice Gorsuch on April 21, 2022. Justice Kagan filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Breyer and Sotomayor joined.
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