Caldwell v. Knipp

Filing 13

ORDER GRANTING RESPONDENT'S MOTION TO DISMISS AND DENYING CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY by Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton granting 11 Motion to Dismiss. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate/Proof of Service) (nah, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/5/2014)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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OAKLAND DIVISION

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JOSEPH M. CALDWELL,
Petitioner,

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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No. C 13-2802 PJH (PR)

Respondent.

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ORDER GRANTING
RESPONDENT'S MOTION TO
DISMISS AND DENYING
CERTIFICATE OF
APPEALABILITY

vs.
WILLIAM KNIPP,
/

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This is a habeas case brought pro se by a state prisoner under 28 U.S.C. § 2254.

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Respondent has filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that the petition is barred by the

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statute of limitations, and petitioner has filed an opposition. For the reasons that follow, the

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motion will be granted.
DISCUSSION

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Statute of Limitations

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The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 ("AEDPA"), which

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became law on April 24, 1996, imposed for the first time a statute of limitations on petitions

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for a writ of habeas corpus filed by state prisoners. Petitions filed by prisoners challenging

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non-capital state convictions or sentences must be filed within one year of the latest of the

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date on which: (A) the judgment became final after the conclusion of direct review or the

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time passed for seeking direct review; (B) an impediment to filing an application created by

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unconstitutional state action was removed, if such action prevented petitioner from filing;

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(C) the constitutional right asserted was recognized by the Supreme Court, if the right was

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newly recognized by the Supreme Court and made retroactive to cases on collateral

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review; or (D) the factual predicate of the claim could have been discovered through the
exercise of due diligence. 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1). Time during which a properly filed

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application for state post-conviction or other collateral review is pending is excluded from

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the one-year time limit. Id. § 2244(d)(2).

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The one-year period may start running from "the expiration of the time for seeking

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[direct] review." 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(A). "Direct review" includes the period within which

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a petitioner can file a petition for a writ of certiorari from the United States Supreme Court,

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whether or not the petitioner actually files such a petition. Bowen v. Roe, 188 F.3d 1157,

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1159 (9th Cir. 1999). Accordingly, if a petitioner fails to seek a writ of certiorari from the

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United States Supreme Court, AEDPA's one-year limitations period begins to run on the

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date the ninety-day period defined by Supreme Court Rule 13 expires. See Miranda v.
Castro, 292 F.3d 1063, 1065 (9th Cir. 2002) (where petitioner did not file petition for

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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certiorari, his conviction became final ninety days after the California Supreme Court

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denied review); Bowen, 188 F.3d at 1159 (same).

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Petitioner was sentenced to 56 years to life in prison after a jury convicted him of

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first degree murder. Motion to Dismiss (MTD), Ex. A at 1. On October 27, 2011, the

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California Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment. Id. The California Supreme Court denied

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review on January 11, 2012. MTD, Ex. B. Petitioner had ninety days to then file a petition

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for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court. See Bowen, 188 F.3d at

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1159. He did not. Thus, petitioner's one-year limitations period began to run on April 11,

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2012, and expired on April 10, 2013. See 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1). The instant federal

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petition filed on June 13, 2013, is untimely absent tolling.1 Petitioner did not file any state

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habeas petitions, thus he is not entitled to any statutory tolling.

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Petitioner argues that he is entitled to equitable tolling because he was mistakenly

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informed that after the California Supreme Court denied review he would be allowed one

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year plus ninety days in which to file a federal habeas petition. This information is

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accurate, and the one-year statute of limitations did not begin until April 11, 2012, ninety

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The court affords petitioner application of the mailbox rule as to all his habeas filings.
Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266, 275-76 (1988) (pro se prisoner filing is dated from the date
prisoner delivers it to prison authorities).
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days after the California Supreme Court denied review. Petitioner appears to be mistaken

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regarding the dates and argues that he should be provided an additional ninety days after

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the expiration of the statute of limitations on April 13, 2013. As the ninety days were

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already added after the California Supreme Court denial on January 11, 2012, petitioner is

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not entitled to a second ninety-day extension. Nor can petitioner’s confusion regarding the

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statute of limitations provide for equitable tolling. A pro se petitioner's lack of legal

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sophistication alone is not an extraordinary circumstance to justify equitable tolling. See

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Rasberry v. Garcia, 448 F.3d 1150, 1154 (9th Cir. 2006). Nor do respondent’s requests for

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extensions to file this motion to dismiss after the petition was filed affect the statute of
limitations analysis.

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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CONCLUSION
Respondent’s motion to dismiss (Docket No. 11) is GRANTED as discussed above.
The petition is DISMISSED. The clerk shall close the file.

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APPEALABILITY

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The federal rules governing habeas cases brought by state prisoners require a

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district court that enters a final order adverse to the petitioner to grant or deny a certificate

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of appealability (“COA”) in the order. See Rule 11(a), Rules Governing § 2254 Cases, 28

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U.S.C. foll. § 2254.

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A petitioner may not appeal a final order in a federal habeas corpus proceeding

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without first obtaining a certificate of appealability. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c); Fed. R. App.

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P. 22(b). Section 2253(c)(1) applies to an appeal of a final order entered on a procedural

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question antecedent to the merits, for instance a dismissal on statute of limitations grounds,

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as here. See Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 483 (2000).

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“Determining whether a COA should issue where the petition was dismissed on

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procedural grounds has two components, one directed at the underlying constitutional

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claims and one directed at the district court’s procedural holding.” Id. at 484-85. “When the

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district court denies a habeas petition on procedural grounds without reaching the

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prisoner’s underlying constitutional claim, a COA should issue when the prisoner shows, at
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least, that jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the petition states a valid claim

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of the denial of a constitutional right and that jurists of reason would find it debatable

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whether the district court was correct in its procedural ruling.” Id. at 484. As each of these

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components is a “threshold inquiry,” the federal court “may find that it can dispose of the

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application in a fair and prompt manner if it proceeds first to resolve the issue whose

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answer is more apparent from the record and arguments.” Id. at 485. Supreme Court

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jurisprudence “allows and encourages” federal courts to first resolve the procedural issue,

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as was done here. See id.

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Here, the court declines to issue a COA regarding the procedural holding or the
underlying claims because reasonable jurists would not find the court’s findings debatable.

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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The court therefore DENIES a COA.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: August 5, 2014.
PHYLLIS J. HAMILTON
United States District Judge

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