Shawn T. Walker v. Michael A. Farnan

BLD-206 NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
___________
No. 25-1655
___________
SHAWN T. WALKER,
Appellant
v.
MICHAEL A. FARNAN; JEFFREY A. BEARD; DAVID DIGUGLIELMO;
CINDY G. WATSON, and others to be named later
____________________________________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
(E.D. Pa. Civil Action No. 2:07-cv-04977)
District Judge: Honorable R. Barclay Surrick
____________________________________
Submitted for Possible Dismissal Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B), or
Possible Summary Action Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6
August 28, 2025
Before: SHWARTZ, MATEY, and CHUNG, Circuit Judges
(Opinion filed: September 19, 2025)
_________
OPINION*
_________
PER CURIAM
* This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not
constitute binding precedent.

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2
Pro se appellant Shawn T. Walker appeals from the District Court’s order denying
his post-judgment motion for relief from a judgment issued against him in 2015. For the
reasons that follow, we will summarily affirm the District Court’s order.
In 1992, Walker was convicted of first-degree murder. He was initially sentenced
to death, but his sentence was later vacated and he was resentenced to life without parole.
Several years passed while his appeal was pending and he was awaiting resentencing, and
he remained in solitary confinement on death row until 2012, when he was released to the
general population.
He brought a civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that his due
process rights were violated while he was in solitary confinement on death row between
the time that he was granted resentencing and the time his new sentence was imposed.
Walker was appointed counsel and, after discovery, the District Court granted summary
judgment to defendants based on qualified immunity. We affirmed. Williams v. Sec’y
Pa. Dep’t of Corr., 848 F.3d 549, 553 (3d Cir. 2017).
More than five years later, Walker filed a motion pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 60(b) in the District Court, stating that another inmate recently provided him
with an Official Opinion from the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General from 1971,
which discusses the constitutionality of the death penalty. Walker argues that this is
newly discovered evidence in support of his case, that it was somehow withheld from
him previously, and that it shows that defendants knew they were violating his
constitutional rights by keeping him in solitary confinement pending his resentencing.
The District Court denied his motion, and Walker timely appealed.

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3
The District Court did not abuse its discretion in denying Walker’s motion.1 To
the extent that his motion was based on Rule 60(b)(2), it was untimely. See Fed. R. Civ.
P. 60(c)(1) (requiring that Rule 60(b)(2) motions be filed “no more than a year after the
entry of the judgment or order” at issue). In any event, the document he attached does
not constitute “newly discovered evidence” that could not have been discovered with
reasonable diligence during his prior counseled proceedings. See Fed. R. Civ. P.
60(b)(2). Walker presented no evidence that this publicly accessible document was
withheld from him or his counsel, and the document does not address where inmates
should be housed while they are awaiting resentencing after a death sentence has been
vacated. Walker also did not establish “extraordinary circumstances” that would justify
reopening the judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6). See
Budget Blinds, Inc. v. White, 536 F.3d 244, 255, 258 (3d Cir. 2008).
Accordingly, because this appeal does not present a substantial question, we will
summarily affirm the District Court’s order.2
1 We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and review the denial of Walker’s motion
for abuse of discretion. See Budget Blinds, Inc. v. White, 536 F.3d 244, 251 (3d Cir.
2008). We may summarily affirm a district court’s decision if the appeal fails to present
a substantial question. See Murray v. Bledsoe, 650 F.3d 246, 247 (3d Cir. 2011) (per
curiam).
2 Walker’s motion for appointment of counsel is denied. See Tabron v. Grace, 6 F.3d
147, 155-56 (3d Cir. 1993).

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