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Summary of Reed v. Goertz
Petitioner Reed was convicted of the capital murder of Stacey Stites in 1997. Reed contended that he and Stites were having an affair, but he did not kill her. Substantial evidence supports a conclusion that Stites was killed by her police officer boyfriend. The case has been undergoing various permutations of appeal for 25 years.
In 2014, Reed filed a postconviction motion for DNA testing of crime scene evidence (including the murder weapon) under Chapter 64 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. The TX trial court denied the motion, and ultimately the US Supreme Court denied cert. (See Sotomayor's statement in Reed v. Texas, 140 S.Ct. 686 (2020).
Reed next sued under 42 USC 1983, alleging that Chapter 64 was unconstitutionally interpreted and applied. Texas argues that Reed blew the time limit for filing this lawsuit and it should be dismissed.
The time limit for filing is interpreted differently in different jurisdictions: the 11th Cir holds that the clock starts and the end of all appeals in state court denying DNA testing. The 5th and 7th Cir. hold that the clock starts earlier: at the moment the trial court denies testing, and before any state appeals.
The Supreme Court will decide whether Reed's claims are time-barred or whether he can pursue DNA testing which has a strong likelihood of exonerating him.
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