Henry Zabala-Zorilla v. District Attorney of Berks County, Pennsylvania
HabeasCorpus
Whether the Third Circuit Court of Appeals erred in its application of Kemp v. United States
QUESTION(S) PRESENTED In Kemp v. United States, 142 S. Ct. 1856, 213 L. Ed. 2d 90 (2022), this Honorable Court held that a "mistake," pursuant to Rule 60(b) (1), included a mistake of law: that is, where a judge makes a legal error, the aggrieved party must move to correct that error under Rule 60(b) (1) rather than the catch-all provision of Rule 60(b) (6). Id. at 1861-1862. ; The Third Circuit Court of Appeals refusal to apply Kemp to a judges legal error without first. seeking authorization from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to file a second successive habeas corpus petition under Section 2254 before addressing Petitioner's Kemp claim under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(1), conflicts with this Court's precedent. This case, thus, presents the following questions: I. Whether the Third Circuit Court of Appeals erred in not finding the Disrtict Court's decision rested upon a clearly erroneous finding of fact, an errant conclusion of law or an improper application of law to fact by requiring the Petitioner to seek authorization from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to file a successive habeas corpus petition under Section 2254, before reviewing the merits of Petitioner's judicial error allegations pursuant to Kemp? II. Whether the Third Circuit Court of Appeals erred in finding Petitioner's Rule 60(b)(1) motion predicated upon legal judicial error was untimely? i.