Two U.S. Supreme Court Opinions Issued Today

The U.S. Supreme Court issued two new opinions this morning. Both cases overturn lower court opinions favorable to the prosecution.

In Jimenez v. Quarterman, a federal habeas case, the Court held that the habeas statute of limitations does not start to run on a reinstated state court appeal until after the appeal is concluded. This would apply in cases where the state court grants the defendant the right to file an out of time appeal. So, for example, if trial counsel fails to file a Notice of Appeal and the defendant files a post-conviction petition which gets the appeal reinstated, the federal one- year limitations period does not begin to run until the reinstated appeal is over. (Thomas, J., writing for the Court, reverses the decision of the Federal District Court of the Northern District of Texas. There is no Fifth Circuit opinion because that Court wouldn't even grant a certificate of appealability!)

The Court held in Chambers v. United States, that a violation of Illinois' failure to report to penal confinement statute is not a "violent felony" for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act, which requires a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence on a felon in possession of a firearm if there is a prior conviction for a violent felony. The failure to report for jail, unlike escaping from jail, does not involve conduct which presents a serious risk of physical injury to another. (Breyer, J., writing for the Court, reversing the Seventh Circuit.)