[Download] "Cornell v. Nix" by United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit " eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Cornell v. Nix
- Author : United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- Release Date : January 16, 1997
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 54 KB
Description
Robert A. Cornell appeals the district courts denial of his Rule 60(b), Fed. R. Civ. P., motion to reopen his petition for habeas corpus filed under 28 U.S.C. Section(s) 2254 (1994). The petition attacked Cornells 1976 first-degree murder conviction on two grounds: first, that new evidence showed Cornell was actually innocent of the crime, and second, that the prosecution unconstitutionally had suppressed exculpatory evidence. In an en banc decision, we rejected on the merits Cornells claim based on suppression of evidence. Cornell v. Nix, 976 F.2d 376, 382-84 (8th Cir. 1992) (en banc), cert. denied, 507 U.S. 1020 (1993). We also held that his claim of actual innocence was procedurally defaulted, and that he had not demonstrated cause for his default. Id. at 380-81. Moreover, applying the standard of Sawyer v. Whitley, 505 U.S. 333, 350 (1992), we held that his procedural default could not be excused under the fundamental miscarriage of justice exception. 976 F.2d at 381-82. Later, the Supreme Court decided Herrera v. Collins, 506 U.S. 390 (1993), pertaining to claims of actual innocence made as a substantive ground for relief, and Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298 (1995), pertaining to the standard of proof for claims of actual innocence made for procedural purposes. Cornell then brought a Rule 60(b) motion on the theory that Schlup worked a change in the law that would have affected the outcome of his case, and that this change constituted "extraordinary circumstances" warranting relief from our earlier judgment. The district court denied his motion. We affirm the district courts denial of relief.