Actual Innocence
Holmes v. South Carolina (2005)
Court:
U.S. Supreme Court
Counsel:
Innocence Project
Position: Challenging evidentiary rule that excluded evidence of third party guilt that directly undermines the strength of the prosecution's evidence against the defendant. Issues: Actual Innocence
Issues:
Actual Innocence
Van Buskirk, Mark Steven v. Baldwin (2001)
Court:
Ninth Circuit
Counsel:
Northern Cal. Innocence Project (by Morrison & Foerster)
Case Number:
00-35640
Position: Imposing a "due diligence" requirement on a defendant's actual Innocence claim is impermissible when actual Innocence is raised as a gateway claim for federal habeas relief under Schlup v. Delo.
Issues:
Actual Innocence
Hunt, Lee Wayne, State of North Carolina v. (2007)
Counsel:
NC Center on Actual Innocence, the Darryl Hunt
Position: The attorney-client privilege should not prevent an attorney from revealing, once his or her client has died, that the client told counsel that he alone committed a crime for which another person was wrongly convicted.
Issues:
Actual Innocence
Floyd, John v. Cain (2010) (2010)
Court:
Louisiana Court of Appeals
Counsel:
Innocence Network by James E. Boren and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
Case Number:
2010-KP-0085
Position: Post-conviction petitioners, who can establish their actual innocence through newly-discovered evidence of any type, are entitled to seek relief.
Lott, Gregory, In re (2005)
Court:
Sixth Circuit
Counsel:
Innocence Network (by Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP)
Case Number:
05-3532
Position: A claim of actual Innocence in habeas proceedings cannot be deemed a waiver of the attorney/client and work product privileges.
Issues:
Actual Innocence
Souliotes, George A. v. Anthony Hedgpeth (2009)
Counsel:
Innocence Network & Bob Barr (by Cooley Godward Kronish)
Case Number:
08-15943
Position: Courts have authority to consider new evidence of actual Innocence without regard to the statutory one-year limitation period for newly discovered evidence, and that the standard for granting a new trial based upon newly discovered evidence should not be a strict "outcome-determinative" test, at least where the state relied at trial upon facts that turned out to be false. - Statutes of limitations, limiting the time in which a prisoner can seek a new trial based on newly discovered evidence, cannot limit courts' ability to consider new evidence of actual Innocence.
