Dennis v. Commonwealth

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant’s petition for writ of actual innocence based on nonbiological evidence, holding that the court of appeal abused its discretion in refusing to order an evidentiary hearing before denying the petition.The petition in this case and its supporting evidence raised substantial factual questions. The court of appeals resolved those questions on the record without referring any issues to a circuit court for an evidentiary hearing, holding that Appellant failed to demonstrate that the evidence upon which he relied was material. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the court of appeals abused its discretion by determining that the facts in this case did not require further development in a circuit court evidentiary hearing. View "Dennis v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law