Maples v. Thomas
Issues
Whether a federal court can excuse a lapsed deadline for filing a habeas corpus petition because a court clerk failed to provide notice to two of petitioner’s three counsel of record and petitioner's attorneys could no longer be said to be acting on petitioner's behalf.
Upon receiving a state-court-issued death sentence, petitioner Cory Maples submitted a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel in post-conviction proceedings and petitioned for an evidentiary hearing. The court clerk took no action when two of three deliveries giving notice that the petition had been denied were returned because two of Maples’s attorneys of record had left their firm. Shortly thereafter, the deadline to submit a federal habeas claim lapsed. Maples now argues that the court clerk’s failure to notify him that his petition for an evidentiary hearing was denied caused the default and violated his due process rights. Additionally, he argues that the actions of his attorneys also constitute an external cause entitling him to federal habeas review. Respondent, the Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Corrections, argues that the clerk successfully notified one attorney of record, and that Supreme Court precedent places the risk of attorney error on the petitioner during the post-conviction phase. This decision could affect how much risk clients bear for poor attorney performance, and whether a court clerk’s failure to take additional steps to notify attorneys of record constitutes an external cause to the defendant and valid excuse for procedural default.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
Whether the Eleventh Circuit properly held - in conflict with the decisions of the Supreme Court and other courts - that there was no “cause” to excuse any procedural default where petitioner was blameless for the default, the State's own conduct contributed to the default, and petitioner's attorneys of record were no longer functioning as his agents at the time of any default.
Maples was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death for killing two of his friends, each of whom he shot in the head with a .22 caliber rifle after a night of drinking. See Maples v. State, 758 So.2d 1, 14–15 (Ala. Crim. App.
The authors would like to thank former Supreme Court Reporter of Decisions Frank Wagner for his assistance in editing this preview.
Additional Resources
• New York Times, Sara Rimer: Questions of Death Row Justice for Poor People in Alabama (Mar. 01, 2000),
• LII: Habeas Corpus
• LII: Due Process
• LII: Fourteenth Amendment