Last week, the Fifth Circuit affirmed dismissal of Rodney Reed’s federal lawsuit demanding that Texas officials allow DNA testing of evidence that could prove his innocence. The decision shows how the legal system values rule-following over real justice.
Instead of ordering the DNA testing, the Fifth Circuit allowed the state officials to try out a new argument on appeal that hadn’t been raised in the initial hearing at the lower court.
The Fifth Circuit ruled that Rodney Reed’s lawsuit was brought too late because he only had two years from the time that he learned his rights were being violated to file suit.
The takeaway from the decision is that the Fifth Circuit believes that government officials can get away with violating constitutional rights if someone files their lawsuit after an arbitrary deadline that is different depending on the state where the violation occurred.
This is another example of the way that courts rigidly apply arbitrary rules, often making up the guidelines for compliance after the fact, all to deny relief to vulnerable people such as death row prisoners.
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