United States Fifth Circuit

In a death penalty case, denial of a Rule 60 motion for relief from judgment and stay of execution is reversed and remanded for consideration of petitioner's ineffective assistance claim on the merits as: 1) the district court had jurisdiction to consider the Rule 60(b) motion, free of the jurisdictional constraints of AEDPA upon successive petitions; 2) petitioner's Wiggins claim was properly before the federal district court; and 3) the district court erroneously concluded that the balance of the equities tipped away from petitioner.

Appellate Information

• Decided 10/11/2007
• Published 10/12/2007

Judges

• PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judge:, Before HIGGINBOTHAM, BENAVIDES and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Fifth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Morris H. Moon, Jared Tyler (argued), Tex. Def. Serv., Houston, TX, for Ruiz., Jeremy Craig Greenwell (argued), Austin, TX, for Quarterman.