Childers v. Crow, No. 20-5014 (10th Cir. 2021)
Nature of Case: Appellant had been required to register under Oklahoma state law, and was subsequently convicted of two offenses related to residency restrictions and received consecutive life sentences.
Following a complicated procedural history, the Appellant filed a federal habeas corpus petition alleging that his conviction represented an unconstitutional retroactive extension of Oklahoma’s SORA under the ex post facto clause.
The district court denied the petition concluding that it was time-barred, but the court of appeals granted a certificate of appealability on the grounds that reasonable jurists could disagree on whether he advanced a claim of actual innocence sufficient to overcome the procedural time bar.
Holding: The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the district court, finding both that the habeas petition was time-barred and that the Appellant did not advance a claim of actual innocence either in the district court or on appeal sufficient to overcome federal procedural defects.