By: Derek Hawkins//January 22, 2018//
United States Supreme Court
Case Name: Keith Tharpe v. Eric Sellers, Warden
Case No.: 17-6075
Focus: Court Error – Habeas Corpus Relief
Petitioner Keith Tharpe moved to reopen his federal habeas corpus proceedings regarding his claim that the Georgia jury that convicted him of murder included a white juror, Barney Gattie, who was biased against Tharpe because he is black. See Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 60(b)(6). The District Court denied the motion on the ground that, among other things, Tharpe’s claim was procedurally defaulted in state court. The District Court also noted that Tharpe could not overcome that procedural default because he had failed to produce any clear and convincing evidence contradicting the state court’s determination that Gattie’s presence on the jury did not prejudice him. See Tharpe v. Warden, No. 5:10–cv–433 (MD Ga., Sept. 5, 2017), App. B to Pet. for Cert. 19.
The question of prejudice—the ground on which the Eleventh Circuit chose to dispose of Tharpe’s application— is not the only question relevant to the broader inquiry whether Tharpe should receive a COA. The District Court denied Tharpe’s Rule 60(b) motion on several grounds not addressed by the Eleventh Circuit. We express no view of those issues here. In light of the standard for relief from judgment under Rule 60(b)(6), which is available only in “ ‘extraordinary circumstances,’ ” Gonzalez v. Crosby, 545 U. S. 524, 536 (2005), Tharpe faces a high bar in showing.
We therefore grant Tharpe’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis, grant the petition for certiorari, vacate the judgment of the Court of Appeals, and remand the case for further consideration of the question whether Tharpe is entitled to a COA.
Vacated in part. Remanded in part.
Dissenting: THOMAS, J.
Concurring: