Time-barred – Writ of Habeas Corpus

Listen to this article

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Richard M. Arnold v. Michael A. Dittmann, Warden, Columbia Correctional Institution

Case No.: 16-3392

Officials: KANNE, ROVNER, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges

Focus: Time-barred – Writ of Habeas Corpus

Richard M. Arnold appeals the district court’s order dismissing as untimely his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. There is no dispute that Arnold’s petition was filed beyond the one‐year deadline established by 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1), but Arnold alleges that his actual innocence of the crime for which he was convicted—repeated sexual assault of a child—supports an equitable exception to the time limit and allows his late petition. See McQuiggin v. Perkins, 569 U.S. 383, 133 S. Ct. 1924 (2013). He relies on the recantation affidavit of the key prosecution witness against him—his son—as proof of his innocence. In view of the state court’s finding that his son’s recantation was cumulative of evidence that was put before the jury that convicted him, the district court concluded that Arnold could not meet the standard for actual innocence set forth in Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298, 115 S. Ct. 851 (1995). For the reasons that follow, we vacate the district court’s judgment and remand for an evidentiary hearing on Arnold’s claim of actual innocence.

Vacated and Remanded

Full Text

Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.