US Supreme Court to hear Alabama man's mail error Death Row case

Published: Monday, August 08, 2011, 7:30 AM
Supreme Court.jpgU.S. Supreme Court building (AP)

WASHINGTON -- One of the first cases the U.S. Supreme Court will hear when it returns this fall is that of an Alabama Death Row inmate who missed an appeal deadline because of a mailroom mistake and undelivered paperwork.

The Cory Maples case will determine whether he gets another chance to avoid the death sentence, but it also will highlight Alabama's weak system for guiding the already-convicted and imprisoned through their appeals.

Maples, now 37, was found guilty of murdering two people in 1995 in Morgan County, and a jury voted 10-2 for the death penalty. The evidence included a videotaped confession.

A subsequent appeal was denied and notice was sent by the Alabama court clerk to his attorneys in New York, who took the case pro bono but had since left the firm. The envelopes were returned to the clerk's office, unopened. By the time Maples had learned of the denial, the deadline to file his next appeal had passed.

Maples argues the missed deadline was not his fault, and it shouldn't be held against him. His new lawyers, in written arguments ahead of the fall hearing before the justices, cited a 2006 case about the state's responsibilities to make a reasonable effort to contact a property owner about an adverse action regarding his house.

"Due process requires no less when a life is at stake," wrote Gregory Garre, a Washington lawyer representing Maples in Washington. "Yet here, the court clerk did nothing when the notices to both Maples' out-of-state pro bono attorneys of record were returned unopened and unclaimed, except to stick the notices in a file drawer."

A third notice, sent to an Alabama attorney also on Maples' team, was received, which is part of the reason the Alabama Attorney General's Office is arguing the state is not responsible for Maples' missed deadline. Therefore, Maples should not be excused for the mistake, lawyers in Luther Strange's office wrote.

"On the face of it, it is hard not to feel a little sorry for a petitioner like .¤.¤. Cory Maples, who loses his chance to assert claims in federal court because of his lawyers' errors," state lawyers wrote. "But .¤.¤. other equitable considerations take precedence in circumstances like these."

Backing Alabama's position is a group of 20 other states, which filed their own brief in Washington arguing that a ruling in Maples' favor would expand the number of cases appealed and settled at the state level that also must get federal review.

"Granting Maples relief would inject uncertainty into an area of law where this court and the courts of appeals are already clear -- no cause exists to excuse procedural default when a petitioner's state habeas counsel errs," the states argue. They said a number of other defendants already are trying to reopen their cases based on what they call "Maples issues."

Maples is drawing support from civil rights advocates, criminal defense attorneys and a group of former appellate judges and state bar presidents from Alabama. Part of their argument is that Maples' Alabama attorney was there only as required by a rule that out-of-state counsel partner with an in-state attorney, and that his in-state attorney was not involved in the details of the case.

Maples' supporters also said he was deprived of appeal rights because of factors beyond his control, and that situation is a product of Alabama's relatively meager system of ensuring prisoners have lawyers.

"Alabama stands alone in failing to provide counsel or any legal assistance for indigent death-sentenced inmates in postconviction proceedings. As a result, those who are fortunate enough to have attorneys must rely on pro bono counsel, most of whom practice far from Alabama," a brief filed by former Alabama appellate judges and state bar presidents states. "Although (there have been) numerous efforts to reform the system, it remains a labyrinth in which many a hapless inmate has become hopelessly lost, sometimes through no fault of his own."

The defense attorneys group said reimbursement for court-appointed lawyers after a conviction is capped at $1,000.

"As a result, Alabama Death Row prisoners rely primarily on volunteer counsel to vindicate their federal constitutional rights," it said.

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral argument on Maples' case Oct. 4.

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Related topics: Death Row, US Supreme Court

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