[1] The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) gives a state prisoner one year to file a federal habeas petition, starting from “the date on which the judgment became final.” 28 U.S.C.

[2] But if the petition alleges newly discovered evidence, the filing deadline is one year from “the date on which the factual predicate of the claim .

Under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), a state prisoner has one year to file a federal petition for habeas corpus from the date on which the new evidence became available.

The Sixth Circuit held that a person claiming actual innocence is excused from AEDPA’s one year statute of limitations.

[5] The Supreme Court agreed to hear this case to determine whether actual innocence is an acceptable excuse to bypass AEDPA’s one-year statute of limitations.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the majority, cautioned that a delay in filing a habeas petition could be a factor in deciding whether actual innocence has been reliably shown.

In this example, a court may view the delay as deliberate in order to take advantage of the witness’ death and therefore deny the petitioner’s actual innocence claim.

[7] Justice Antonin Scalia, writing the dissent, indicated that it was Congress’ intent to apply the AEDPA’s statute of limitations to all cases, including those where a petitioner claims actual innocence.

the district court will be obligated to expend limited judicial resources wading into the murky merits of the petitioner’s innocence claim”.