The Supreme Court giveth . . .

In Skinner v. Switzer, No. 09–9000, the Supreme Court finds that post-conviction requests for DNA evidence can be raised in both habeas corpus proceedings AND under 42 U.S.C. section 1983. It's a Texas case, so maybe the Supreme Court wants to open more avenues for addressing what seems to be a pretty bad criminal system.

In Wall v. Kholi, No. 09–868, the Supreme Court finds that the phrase "collateral review" under 28 U.S.C. section 2244(d)(2) means judicial review of a judgment in a proceeding that isn't part of direct review. In simple terms, it allows review of a Rule 35 motion filed 11 years after defendant's conviction for first-degree sexual assault and finds that such review is not time barred.

In Pepper v. United States, No. 09–6822, the Supreme Court finds that it is appropriate for the district court to consider post-arrest/plea/sentencing rehabilitation. Of course, this was Pepper's fourth appeal of the 8th Circuit's typically extreme treatment of a criminal defendant.