United States Third Circuit

Dismissal of a habeas corpus petition in a death penalty case after a district court found petitioner competent to terminate his petition is remanded for another competency finding where the presumption of continuing competency did not apply because the foundational expert for the district court's competency finding had suggested a new evaluation.

Appellate Information

• Argued 01/12/2006
• Decided 08/18/2006
• Published 08/18/2006

Judges

• AMBRO, Circuit Judge., Before AMBRO, GREENBERG and NYGAARD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Third Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Joseph M. Cosgrove, (Argued), Forty Fort, PA, for Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Thomas W. Corbett, Jr., Attorney General, Richard A. Sheetz, Jr., Executive Deputy Attorney General, Director, Criminal Law Division, Amy Zapp, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Appeals and Legal Services Section, Jonelle Harter Eshbach, (Argued), Senior Deputy Attorney General, Capital Litigation Unit, Office of Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA, Michael A. Farnan, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Office of Chief Counsel, Camp Hill, PA, for Appellees.