Summary
Unanimous U. S. Supreme Court decision utilizing CJLF arguments to reverse a 2009 Ninth Circuit ruling that had found California’s deadline for filing state habeas corpus petitions inadequate. Charles Martin was convicted on strong evidence and sentenced to life in prison for the 1986 stabbing murder of a Sacramento man. After years of successive attempts to overturn his conviction, Martin’s final petition raising new claims was dismissed by both state and federal courts for violating a state rule which requires claims be filed in a timely manner. In 2009, the Ninth Circuit overturned the lower court’s decisions and granted additional review of Martin’s claims. CJLF joined the appeal of that ruling to argue that federal courts should not be allowed to ignore state procedural rules, so long as a defendant had adequate notice of the rule and a reasonable opportunity to comply with it. [CJLF brief in PDF.]
