Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Areli Carbajal Escobar v. Texas
Paid petition · Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, No. WR-81,574-02 · judgment January 26, 2022
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
Petitioner Areli Carbajal Escobar was convicted of capital murder in Texas state court largely based on false DNA evidence and sentenced to death. After his conviction, the State of Texas discovered serious deficiencies in the laboratory conducting the DNA testing, ultimately closing the facility altogether. On petitioner’s application for habeas relief, the state habeas court below found that the DNA evidence used to convict him was false, misleading, and unreliable, and material to his conviction. Thus, the court recommended that relief be granted on his federal due process claim. Although the State initially opposed habeas relief, it changed its position when the case reached the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA), agreeing that petitioner’s federal due process rights were violated and that he is entitled to have his capital conviction overturned. Despite the agreement of petitioner, the prosecution, and the habeas court, the CCA denied relief, holding that petitioner’s federal due process rights were not violated because he had failed to show any reasonable likelihood that the false DNA evidence could have affected the jury’s judgment. In doing so, the CCA did not even acknowledge the State’s contrary view. The question presented is: Did the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals err in holding that the prosecution’s reliance on admittedly false DNA evidence to secure petitioner’s conviction and death sentence is consistent with the federal Due Process clause because there is no reasonable likelihood that the false DNA evidence could have affected the judgment of the jury?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Daniel Hirotsu Woofter
Goldstein & Russell, P.C.
For respondent
Holly Eileen Taylor
Travis County District Attorney's Office
Proceedings
- Feb 10 2023Judgment and mandate issued.
- Jan 09 2023Petition GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further consideration in light of the confession of error by Texas in its brief filed on September 28, 2022.
- Jan 03 2023DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/6/2023.
- Dec 05 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/9/2022.
- Nov 28 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/2/2022.
- Nov 14 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/18/2022.
- Nov 09 2022Record received from the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas. The record is electronic and contains sealed materials.
- Nov 07 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/10/2022.
- Oct 31 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/4/2022.
- Oct 28 2022Record Requested.
- Oct 12 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/28/2022.
- Oct 11 2022Reply of petitioner Areli Carbajal Escobar filed. (Distributed)
- Sep 28 2022Brief of respondent Texas in support filed.
- Aug 19 2022Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including September 28, 2022.
- Aug 18 2022Motion to extend the time to file a response from August 29, 2022 to September 28, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jul 28 2022Brief amicus curiae of American Bar Association filed.
- Jul 28 2022Brief amici curiae of Former State Attorneys General, United States Attorneys, and Prosecutors filed.
- Jul 26 2022Brief amici curiae of The Innocence Network and The Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences, Inc. filed.
- Jul 19 2022Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including August 29, 2022.
- Jul 15 2022Motion to extend the time to file a response from July 28, 2022 to August 29, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jun 24 2022Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due July 28, 2022)
- May 19 2022Application (21A602) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until June 24, 2022.
- May 13 2022Application (21A602) to extend further the time from May 26, 2022 to June 24, 2022, submitted to Justice Alito.
- Apr 20 2022Application (21A602) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until May 26, 2022.
- Apr 13 2022Letter to the Clerk of Areli Escobar submitted.
- Apr 08 2022Application (21A602) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from April 26, 2022 to May 26, 2022, submitted to Justice Alito.