Wood v. Milyard

Holding

Courts of appeals, like district courts, have the authority " but not the obligation " to raise a forfeited timeliness defense on their own initiative in exceptional cases. Because the state in this case had deliberately waived the statute of limitations defense, the court of appeals abused its discretion when it dismissed Wood"s habeas petition as untimely.

Judgment

Reversed, 9-0, in an opinion by Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Apr 24, 2012. Justice Thomas filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, which Justice Scalia joined.

Recommended Citation: Wood v. Milyard, SCOTUSblog, https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/wood-v-milyard/