Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Rodney Reed v. Texas
Paid petition · Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, No. WR-50,961-10 · judgment June 28, 2023
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Questions presented
In the twenty-five years since Rodney Reed was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, a “considerable body of evidence” has accumulated that he is innocent. Reed v. Texas, 140 S. Ct. 686, 687 (2020) (statement of Sotomayor, J., respecting the denial of certiorari). In 2021, Reed presented overwhelming evidence of innocence at a state habeas hearing that comprehensively dismantled the state’s case against him, confirming that his conviction remains “mired in doubt.” Id. at 690. But the trial court adopted the state’s proposed findings verbatim. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals—unable to cure the trial court’s abdication of its role with no independent way to assess witness credibility—then denied relief, reasoning that Reed had not produced “affirmative evidence” that showed it was more likely than not his theory of the case “is the correct one.” App. 99a, 126a. The questions presented are:
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Whether it violates due process and contravenes Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298 (1995), to require a petitioner pursuing a gateway-innocence claim not just to provide new reliable evidence making it more likely than not that a reasonable juror would have reasonable doubt, but to prove with “affirmative evidence” that it is more likely than not that a particular theory of innocence is true.
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Whether a trial court violates due process when it adjudicates a habeas petition by adopting verbatim the state’s error-riddled findings of fact rather than conducting its own independent analysis of the evidence.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Parker Andrew Rider-Longmaid
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
For respondent
Travis Golden Bragg
Office of the Attorney General of Texas
Proceedings
- Jul 02 2024Petition DENIED.
- Jun 28 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 7/1/2024.
- Jun 17 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/20/2024.
- Jun 17 2024Rescheduled.
- Jun 10 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/13/2024.
- Jun 10 2024Rescheduled.
- Jun 04 2024Rescheduled.
- Jun 03 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/6/2024.
- May 28 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/30/2024.
- May 28 2024Rescheduled.
- May 20 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/23/2024.
- May 20 2024Rescheduled.
- May 14 2024Rescheduled.
- May 13 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/16/2024.
- May 06 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/9/2024.
- May 06 2024Rescheduled.
- Apr 22 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/26/2024.
- Apr 22 2024Rescheduled.
- Apr 16 2024Rescheduled.
- Apr 15 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/19/2024.
- Apr 03 2024Rescheduled.
- Mar 20 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/12/2024.
- Mar 20 2024Reply of petitioner Rodney Reed filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 06 2024Brief of respondent Texas in opposition filed.
- Feb 23 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including March 6, 2024.
- Feb 22 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response from February 28, 2024 to March 6, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jan 26 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including February 28, 2024.
- Jan 24 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 29, 2024 to February 28, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
- Dec 19 2023Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including January 29, 2024. See Rule 30.1.
- Dec 18 2023Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 28, 2023 to January 27, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
- Nov 22 2023Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 28, 2023)
- Oct 16 2023Application (23A236) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until November 27, 2023.
- Oct 11 2023Application (23A236) to extend further the time from October 26, 2023 to November 25, 2023, submitted to Justice Alito.
- Sep 14 2023Application (23A236) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until October 26, 2023.
- Sep 08 2023Application (23A236) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from September 26, 2023 to October 26, 2023, submitted to Justice Alito.