In United States v. Abreu, 18-13965 (Oct. 1, 2020) (Jordan,
Newsom, Hall), the Court affirmed the denial of a petition for a certificate of
innocence under the Unjust Conviction
Statute.
The Eleventh Circuit had previously reversed the petitioner’s
fraud convictions for insufficient evidence.
However, the Court held that, even assuming such a reversal (or an acquittal) could itself entitle a
person to a certificate of innocence, the appellate decision did not
demonstrate the petitioner’s actual innocence.
The Court held only that there was no direct or circumstantial evidence
from which a jury could find guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. And because the petitioner relied only on the
appellate decision, without otherwise alleging or proving actual innocence, the
district court did not abuse its discretion by denying the petition.
Judge Newsom concurred in the judgment. He opined that an appellate decision
reversing for insufficient evidence, by itself, can never establish innocence
under the actual-innocence prong of the the statute.
