In the case of Antone v. Dugger, Superintendent, Florida State Prison et al., 1983, petitioner Robert Sullivan Antone was convicted for first-degree murder and sentenced to death in a Florida state court. He appealed his conviction on grounds that he received ineffective assistance from counsel during both the guilt and penalty phases of his trial. The Supreme Court held that it was not necessary for a defendant to show "actual innocence" in order to claim ineffective assistance of counsel under Strickland v. Washington (1984). Instead, they must demonstrate that their attorney's performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and there is reasonable probability that but for these errors result would have been different. However, after reviewing the record carefully including all evidence presented at trial as well as sentencing phase proceedings; Court concluded Mr.Antone failed to meet this burden hence affirmed lower courts' decision denying him relief.

In the dissenting opinion for Antone v. Dugger, Justice Brennan disagreed with the majority's decision to deny a stay of execution and certiorari review. He argued that there were significant questions about whether or not Antone had received effective legal representation during his trial and sentencing, which warranted further examination by the court. Furthermore, he pointed out that this case raised important issues regarding racial bias in capital punishment cases - specifically how it may influence jury selection and sentencing decisions - which also deserved careful consideration by the Supreme Court. In conclusion, Justice Brennan believed that these concerns should have led to a delay in carrying out Antone's death sentence until they could be properly addressed through judicial review.