WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) filed an amicus brief today in support of the State of Texas’ position in Rivers v. Guerrero, which is an Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) case on appeal from the Fifth Circuit. A copy of the brief can be found here.

“Rivers’s petition relies on a novel and atextual interpretation of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15 that would allow not just habeas petitioners—but all civil litigants—to bypass the safeguards of final judgments,” wrote Sen. Cornyn.  

“Such an attack on finality is directly contrary to AEDPA, which was specifically enacted to reduce delays in the execution of criminal sentences and advance ‘the principles of comity, finality, and federalism” Sen. Cornyn continued.  

“The Court should reject Rivers’s position and, instead, reaffirm the procedures established by AEDPA and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for challenging final judgments,” Sen. Cornyn continued.

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the case on March 31. An amicus brief, or “friend of the court” brief, can be filed in order to address concerns and advise the Court on a matter of law that directly affects the case at hand.

Background:

Petitioner Danny Richard Rivers was convicted by jury of charges related to the sexual abuse of a child and possession of child pornography in 2012. After his conviction, Rivers sought state habeas relief. He then sought federal habeas relief, which was denied by the district court. He appealed this denial to the Fifth Circuit, and while that appeal was pending, he filed another federal habeas petition. The district court denied the petition, citing that “second or successive” habeas petitions are barred by AEDPA absent specific circumstances. Rivers appealed this denial, arguing that the law preventing second or successive habeas filings only applies when the appeal of the first is final, and, additionally, that his second petition was actually an attempt to amend his original petition. There a circuit split on when an appeal is considered final such that AEDPA’s restrictions apply.

In 1996, Congress passed AEDPA, which says that absent unusual circumstances, convicts are only permitted to file one habeas petition, and once that petition has been denied, they cannot file additional petitions. This was done in an effort to prevent federal courts from becoming overwhelmed by repeated petitions from people with fair convictions.