Jackson v. Phillips

Background

Stanley Jackson filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging his 1998 New York state-court conviction. The court denied that petition in 2006. The Court of Appeals later denied Jackson’s request for permission to appeal and for permission to proceed without paying court fees, and its mandate issued in 2007.

After the 2006 denial, Jackson repeatedly sought reconsideration. The court stated that five earlier motions for relief from judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) had been denied as meritless. Jackson filed the motion addressed in this order on December 7, 2020, seeking relief under Rule 60(b)(6), which permits relief from a final judgment for another reason that justifies relief.

Court’s Analysis

The court concluded that the motion was untimely. Rule 60(c) requires a Rule 60(b) motion to be made within a reasonable time. The court also cited Southern District of New York Local Civil Rule 6.3, which generally requires a motion for reconsideration to be served within fourteen days after the relevant decision or judgment. Jackson filed this motion more than fourteen years after the decision denying his petition and more than thirteen years after the Court of Appeals issued its mandate. The court held that a delay of more than a decade was not a reasonable time.

The court separately concluded that the motion was meritless. Jackson repeated his argument that New York City police officers illegally arrested him in New Jersey. The court stated that this argument had already been addressed when the habeas petition was denied in 2006, and that Jackson’s new motion did not show that the earlier determination was erroneous.

Disposition

The court ordered that Jackson’s December 7 motion be denied. It also declined to issue a certificate of appealability because Jackson had not made a substantial showing that a federal right had been denied. Finally, the court found under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith, and directed the Clerk of Court to mail Jackson a copy of the order and note the mailing on the docket.

This order addressed Jackson’s request to reconsider the earlier habeas decision; it did not reconsider or change the 2006 denial of his habeas petition.