William Mallory Kent - Legal News of Note

June 25, 2009 - Ninth Circuit Permits Rule 60(b) Use Under Gonzalez in Exceptional Circumstances When 2254 is Otherwise Procedurally Barred

A substantive change in the law can be a basis for granting a motion, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b), to overturn a final judgment denying habeas corpus relief, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held June 25. In Gonzalez v. Crosby, 545 U.S. 524, 77 CrL 359 (2005), the U.S. Supreme Court expressed concerns about the use of Rule 60(b) to skirt the provision of the federal habeas statute that generally bars retroactive application of changes in the law. The Ninth Circuit, however, interpreted the opinion in Gonzalez as adopting a “case-by-case approach, rather than a per se rule.” It went on to explain why the change in the law at issue in this case established the “extraordinary circumstance” that the Gonzalez court found was missing in that case. (Phelps v. Alameida, 9th Cir., No. 07-15167, 6/25/09)

Warning - Persons who have been convicted of ordinary misdemeanor battery, even if not charged as a "domestic battery," if in fact it was a domestic battery, are subject to federal felony prosecution and ten years imprisonment for possession of a firearm under new Supreme Court decision, United States v. Hayes, February 24, 2009.

Just Released: Important New Report on the Crisis in the National Public Defender System Issued by the Constitution Project - Justice Denied

CRIMINAL APPEALS Federal Criminal Appeal Lawyer WILLIAM MALLORY KENT

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WILLIAM MALLORY KENT