Innocent Man Jeffrey Deskovic Spends Six Years Behind Bars Because Of Sotomayor Decision

The New York Times reports that "Imprisoned at the age of 16 for the killing of a high school classmate, Mr. Deskovic, now 35, filed a habeas corpus petition in 1997 in Federal District Court contesting his conviction. The court denied the request because the paperwork had arrived four days late. Mr. Deskovic and one of his lawyers — who he said had been misinformed about the deadline for filing — appealed the decision to the federal appellate court on which Ms. Sotomayor sat. Ms. Sotomayor, along with the other judge on the panel, ruled that the lawyer’s mistake did not 'rise to the level of an extraordinary circumstance' that would compel them to forgive the delay. There was no need to look at the evidence that Mr. Deskovic insisted would affirm his innocence, they said. Mr. Deskovic spent six more years behind bars, until DNA found in the victim not only cleared him, but connected another man to the crime."

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