Whether the Fifth Circuit properly denied a Certificate of Appealability in a capital habeas corpus proceeding involving alleged Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendment violations

No question identified. : APPLICATION FOR A 30-DAY EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE A PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT To the Honorable Samuel Alito, Associate Justice, and Circuit Justice for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit: 1. This is a federal habeas corpus proceeding. On December 16, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denied Cedric Ricks’s Petition for Rehearing en banc from the denial of his Motion for Certificate of Appealability (attached as Exhibit 1). 2. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1254(1). 3. At present, Mr. Ricks has until March 17, 2025, to file a petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of the Fifth Circuit’s decision. See Sup. Ct. R. 13.1, 13.3. 4. Under Rule 13.5 and Rule 30.3, this Court may extend the time for seeking certiorari for up to sixty (60) additional days. Mr. Ricks requests an extension of thirty (30) days under the circumstances, up to and including April 16, 2025, to file his petition. 5. Counsel for the Respondent does not oppose the requested extension of time. 6. The issues to be presented in Mr. Ricks’s capital case are significant, including numerous Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendment violations . 7. Undersigned counsel is the supervisor of the Capital Habeas Unit (CHU) of the Office of the Federal Public Defender, Northern District of Texas. As supervisor of the CHU, Mr. Schepers both provides direct representation and supervises the work of the CHU staff, including its attorneys. Several of his cases, including capital cases in federal habeas corpus proceedings in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and