Penry v. Texas, 515 U.S. 1304, 2 (1995)

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Cite as: 515 U. S. 1304 (1995)

Opinion in Chambers

by a state court of last resort, . . . shall be deemed in time when it is filed with the Clerk of this Court within 90 days after the entry of the judgment," Rule 13.1, and that a Justice may extend the time to file for up to 60 days "for good cause shown," Rule 13.2. Our Rules specify, however, that "[a]n application to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari is not favored." Rule 13.6.

I have made it clear that I take the rule of disfavor seriously. In Madden v. Texas, 498 U. S. 1301 (1991) (opinion in chambers), I considered four applications for extensions of time in capital cases. Three of them sought an extension because appellate counsel had withdrawn from the applicant's case (with no indication that the withdrawal could not reasonably have been foreseen). Id., at 1302-1304. In the fourth, the asserted reason was similar to that offered here: Counsel needed additional time " 'to ensure that the important constitutional issues in [the] case are properly researched and presented to this Court.' " Id., at 1302. At that time, I expressed my view that "none of these applications, as an original matter, would meet the standard of 'good cause shown' for the granting of an extension." Id., at 1304. I nonetheless granted extensions in the three cases where counsel had withdrawn, primarily because I was a new Circuit Justice, and was reluctant to impose without notice a standard more stringent, perhaps, than what the Fifth Circuit bar was accustomed to. I gave notice, however, that "I shall not grant extensions in similar circumstances again." Id., at 1305.

By now, counsel litigating in the Fifth Circuit ought to be familiar with my view of what constitutes "good cause" to support the disfavored application to extend the time to file a petition for certiorari. See R. Stern, E. Gressman, S. Shapiro, & K. Geller, Supreme Court Practice § 6.7 (7th ed. 1993). The reasons offered by counsel in this application fall short. As I have previously observed, all applicants can honestly claim that they would benefit from additional time

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