No. 23-6020

Henry Zabala-Zorilla v. District Attorney of Berks County, Pennsylvania

Lower Court: Third Circuit
Docketed: 2023-11-15
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP
Tags: habeas-corpus judicial-error legal-mistake rule-60(b)(1) rule-60b statute-of-limitations successive-petition third-circuit
Latest Conference: 2024-01-05
Question Presented (from Petition)

In Kemp v. United States, 142 S. Ct. 1856, 213 L. Ed. 2d 90 (2022), this
Honorable Court held that a "mistake," pursuant to Rule 60(b) (1), included a
mistake of law: that is, where a judge makes a legal error, the aggrieved party must
move to correct that error under Rule 60(b) (1) rather than the catch-all provision
of Rule 60(b) (6). Id. at 1861-1862.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals refusal to apply Kemp to a judges legal
error without first seeking authorization from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals
to file a second successive habeas corpus petition under Section 2254 before
addressing Petitioner's Kemp claim under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(1), conflicts with
this Court's precedent.
This case, thus, presents the following questions:

I. Whether the Third Circuit Court of Appeals erred in not finding the Disrtict
Court's decision rested upon a clearly erroneous finding of fact, an errant
conclusion of law or an improper application of law to fact by requiring the
Petitioner to seek authorization from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to
file a successive habeas corpus petition under Section 2254, before
reviewing the merits of Petitioner's judicial error allegations pursuant to
Kemp ?

II. Whether the Third Circuit Court of Appeals erred in finding Petitioner's
Rule 60(b)(1) motion predicated upon legal judicial error was untimely?

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the Third Circuit Court of Appeals erred in its application of Kemp v. United States

Docket Entries

2024-01-08
Petition DENIED.
2023-12-07
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/5/2024.
2023-12-01
Waiver of right of respondent District Attorney, Berks County to respond filed.
2023-10-17
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due December 15, 2023)

Attorneys

District Attorney, Berks County
Alisa Rebecca Orner HobartBerks County District Attorney's Office, Respondent
Henry Zabala-Zorilla
Henry Zabala-Zorilla — Petitioner