Swearingen v. Thaler

Issue: (1) Is a freestanding claim of actual innocence a cognizable basis for federal habeas corpus relief? (2) Whether, in deciding whether a successive habeas petition meets the gateway criteria of 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(2)(B): a. a district court should consider the petitioner’s efforts to discover new exculpatory evidence, in order to determine due diligence rather than simply ask whether such evidence existed at an earlier date? b. a district court should evaluate a petitioner’s factual allegations as “if proven,” rather than making findings, without conducting an evidentiary hearing, that a finder of fact would make?

Briefs and Documents

Certiorari-stage documents

• Opinion below (5th Cir.)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition
• Amicus brief of the Innocence Network
• Reply of petitioner