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Another Texas court filing fiasco, this time federal

By Karl R. Keys, Esq.

File this one under “only in Texas.”  On Monday the Fifth Circuit denied relief in Thurmond v. Quarterman.  Relief was denied as counselled filed a habeas petition in his client’s case late, one day late in a death penalty case. The reason for the delay? Counsel apparently attempted to file an electronic version of Mr. Thurmond’s  habeas petition in a timely manner on the day it was due but the court’s electronic filing machine was broken.   Counsel filed the petition dutifully the next day.  The panel concludes that despite the attempted on-time filing,  despite the inability to file timely  due to broken court equipment, and despite filing the next available business day,  counsel was not “diligently pursuing his [client's] rights” so as a result counsel’s client must die...continue to full post

Full post as published by Capital Defense Weekly on March 09, 2009 (boomark / email).