Lee v. Kelley

About five hours before Ledell Lee’s scheduled execution, two appeals were brought to this court. In the first, the district court determined that, under Gonzalez v. Crosby, 545 U.S. 524, 125 S.Ct. 2641, 162 L.Ed.2d 480 (2005), it lacked jurisdiction on the ground that Lee’s motion for relief from judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) was, in substance, a successive petition for habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The district court concluded that, although Lee’s motion was styled as one to reopen judgment under Rule 60(b), Lee was actually seeking to litigate new claims…