The only question in deciding whether to grant a Certificate of Appealability
("COA") is whether reasonable jurists could disagree with the district court's
resolution of the claims. The Justices of this Court have long disagreed whether a
claim of actual innocence is cognizable in federal habeas. Yet the Ninth Circuit
denied a COA on Petitioner's actual innocence claim, finding it foreclosed by this
Court's precedent. Did the Ninth Circuit's denial of a COA contravene this Court's
ruling regarding the standard for granting a COA?

This Court noted in Herrera v. Collins, 506 U.S. 390, 417 (1993) that it is "scarcely
logical" to interpret the Constitution as prohibiting the execution of innocent people
while condoning life sentences for the innocent. The district court here found that
substantive claims of innocence, if viable, would only apply in the capital context.
Did the Ninth Circuit's silent adoption of the district court's finding contravene
Herrera?

Whether a claim of actual innocence is cognizable in federal habeas