Jermont Cox v. John E. Wetzel, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al.
HabeasCorpus
Rule 60(b)(6) authorizes a district court to grant relief from judgment for "any . . . reason that justifies relief " on a showing of "extraordinary circumstances." The first question presented here is one of first impression:
I. In habeas corpus proceedings, whether a district court deciding a motion for relief from judgment may ignore new exculpatory evidence when assessing whether a defaulted IATC claim is "substantial" under Martinez v. Ryan , 566 U.S. 1 (2012).
II. Whether Petitioner was entitled to a COA to allow the Court of Appeals to address the above question and determine whether his IATC claims were substantial.
Whether a district court deciding a Rule 60(b)(6) motion in habeas corpus proceedings may ignore new exculpatory evidence when assessing the substantiality of a defaulted ineffective-assistance-of-trial-counsel claim under Martinez v. Ryan