Model post-conviction relief viability across statutory procedural bars, newly discovered evidence thresholds, Brady suppression materiality, and constitutional ineffective assistance of counsel standards.
| Legal Doctrine / Element | Standard of Review | Case Status | Judicial Assessment |
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Decades after direct appeal, courts strictly penalize piecemeal litigation. A prisoner cannot bring claims that were known or could have been raised in prior motions without showing newly discovered evidence that could not have been uncovered with due diligence.
Courts view testimony changes by co-defendants or teenage triggermen with extreme skepticism. Unless independent forensic, documentary, or surveillance evidence corroborates the recantation, judges routinely deny retrial requests as untrustworthy.
To overcome state procedural defaults and successive petition bars, a petitioner must establish that in light of new reliable evidence, no reasonable juror would have found them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt (Schlup v. Delo).