Frank Hubbard v. Steven Pinchak the Attorney General of the State of New Jersey Peter Verniero

OPINION OF THE COURT

SLOVITER, Circuit Judge.

Petitioner Frank M. Hubbard seeks a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. He procedurally defaulted his claims in the state courts. He seeks to overcome the procedural default by asserting his “actual innocence,” Bousley v. United States, 523 U.S. 614, 623, 118 S.Ct. 1604, 140 L.Ed.2d 828 (1998); Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298, 327, 115 S.Ct. 851, 130 L.Ed.2d 808 (1995), a claim that the District Court rejected. We must therefore examine the scope and contours of the claim of actual innocence as a gateway to consideration of the merits…