Whether the TCCA's application of the equitable doctrine of laches constitutes an independent and adequate state law ground that bars review of petitioner's substantial constitutional claims

QUESTIONS PRESENTED Petitioner was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life without parole. The State obtained a conviction based on the testimony of: (1) an eyewitness who claimed that, while he was on his apartment balcony at 2:30 a.m., he heard a gunshot and saw petitioner and another man exit the building across the parking lot in which the shooting occurred; and (2) a career criminal with a pending habitual offender charge who claimed that petitioner had confessed to him in the jail. Eleven years after petitioner’s conviction became final, he filed a habeas corpus application alleging that his trial counsel was ineffective and that the State both failed to disclose impeachment evidence and presented and failed to correct false testimony. After a ten-day evidentiary hearing, the trial court— without addressing the merits—recommended that the application be dismissed based on the doctrine of laches because petitioner unreasonably delayed filing it, and the State would be unduly prejudiced at a retrial. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) denied relief by adopting the trial court’s findings and conclusions and also denied reconsideration. The questions presented are: I. Whether the TCCA’s application of the equitable doctrine of laches constitutes an independent and adequate state law ground that bars review of petitioner’s substantial constitutional claims. ii QUESTIONS PRESENTED—Continued II. Whether the TCCA’s application of the equitable doctrine of laches to bar review of the merits of petitioner’s substantial constitutional claims violated his right to due process of law. Alternatively, whether the prosecution is estopped from relying on the doctrine of laches when its misconduct caused the delay in filing the habeas corpus application. ili RELATED CASES e State v. Marshal, No. 1087328, 337th District Court of Harris County, Texas. Judgment entered December 14, 2006. e Marshal v. State, No. 14-06-01133-CR, Fourteenth Court of Appeals of Texas. Judgment entered February 28, 2008. e Marshal v. State, No. PD-1199-08, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Judgment entered January 14, 2009. e Ex parte Marshal, No. 1087328-A, 337th District Court of Harris County, Texas. Judgment entered December 23, 2020. e = Ex parte Marshal, No. WR-92,202-01, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Judgment entered November 10, 2021. Reconsideration denied May 2, 2022.