Chamblee v. Secretary, Department of Corrections et al

Filing 17

ORDER that Chamblee's petition is dismissed. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment against Chamblee and to close this case. COA and IFP on appeal denied. Signed by Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington on 5/30/2017. (MLH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
WILLIAM LEE CHAMBLEE,
Petitioner,
v.

Case No. 8:16-cv-2026-T-33TBM

SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT
OF CORRECTIONS,
Respondent.
___________________________/
ORDER
William Lee Chamblee, a Florida prisoner, filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas
corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. (Doc. 1.) He challenges his convictions entered by the
Circuit Court for the Sixth Judicial Circuit, in and for Pasco County. Respondent asserts
that the petition is time-barred. (Doc. 9.) Chamblee filed a reply. (Doc. 15.) Upon
consideration, the petition is dismissed as time-barred.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Chamblee entered a plea of nolo contendere to one count of second degree murder.
(Doc. 12, Ex. 1.) The trial court sentenced him to 30 years in prison. (Id.) The state
appellate court per curiam affirmed. (Doc. 12, Ex. 3.) Chamblee’s motion to correct illegal
sentence filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a) was denied. (Doc. 1, p.
4; Doc. 12, Ex. 4.) The state appellate court affirmed. (Id.) The state appellate court also
denied Chamblee’s habeas petition filed under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.141.
(Doc. 12, Ex. 5.) Chamblee next filed a motion for postconviction relief under Florida Rule

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of Criminal Procedure 3.850. (Doc. 12, Ex. 6.) The motion was denied, and the state
appellate court per curiam affirmed. (Doc. 12, Exs. 6, 7.) The state court also dismissed
Chamblee’s motion for return of property. (Doc. 12, Ex. 8.) The state appellate court
reversed and remanded for further proceedings. (Doc. 12, Ex. 9.)
UNTIMELINESS OF FEDERAL HABEAS PETITION
The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”) provides a
one-year period of limitations for filing a § 2254 federal habeas petition. 28 U.S.C.
§ 2244(d)(1). Lawrence v. Florida, 549 U.S. 327, 331 (2007). This period runs from the
later of “the date on which the judgment became final by the conclusion of direct review or
the expiration of the time for seeking such review.” 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(A).

The state appellate court per curiam affirmed Chamblee’s judgment on September
2, 2011. (Doc. 12, Ex. 3.) His judgment therefore became final 90 days later, on
December 1, 2011, when the time for filing a petition for writ of certiorari in the United
States Supreme Court expired. Clay v. United States, 537 U.S. 522, 527 (2003); Bond v.
Moore, 309 F.3d 770, 774 (11th Cir. 2002).

Chamblee’s assertion that his judgment did not become final for another twenty days
must be rejected. He notes that his motions for rehearing on direct appeal were denied on
September 22, 2011. He contends that his conviction therefore did not become final until
December 21, 2011. Chamblee is correct that a motion for rehearing generally delays the
start of the 90-day period to petition for a writ of certiorari. See Sup. Ct. R. 13.3. However,
Chamblee’s motions for rehearing were nullities because he filed them pro se while he was
represented by counsel. His own supporting documentation shows that the state appellate
court noted “strike pro se rehearing/represented” in disposing of his motions. (Doc. 15, p.
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7.) Under Florida law, pro se pleadings by represented defendants are considered nullities.
See Sheppard v. State, 17 So. 3d 275 (Fla. 2009). Although Sheppard recognizes “a
limited exception to the rule of striking pro se pleadings as nullities,” this exception is
irrelevant to Chamblee’s motions for rehearing because it applies only to some motions to
withdraw plea. Id. at 277. Therefore, Chamblee’s stricken motions for rehearing filed in
the state appellate court had no effect on the finality of that court’s judgment, and did not
delay commencement of the 90-day period to file a petition for writ of certiorari.
Accordingly, Chamblee’s limitations period began to run on December 2, 2011, the
day after his judgment became final. He had one year to file his federal habeas petition
absent the filing of any tolling applications. See 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2) (the limitations
period is tolled for “[t]he time during which a properly filed application for State postconviction or other collateral review with respect to the pertinent judgment or claim is
pending.”).

A total of 39 days of untolled time ran before Chamblee filed his Rule 3.800(a)
motion to correct illegal sentence on January 9, 2012. (Doc. 12, Ex. 4.) This motion
remained pending until the state appellate court issued its mandate on December 14, 2012.
(Id.) By that date, however, Chamblee had already filed a habeas petition alleging
ineffective assistance of appellate counsel pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure
9.141. (Doc. 12, Ex. 5.) The state appellate court denied the petition, and the tolling of
Chamblee’s AEDPA limitations period continued until the state appellate court denied his
motion for rehearing on February 18, 2013. (Id.) Another 291 days of untolled time, for a
total of 330 days, ran until Chamblee filed his Rule 3.850 motion for postconviction relief
on December 6, 2013. (Doc. 12, Ex. 6.) This motion was pending until December 31,
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2015, when the state appellate court issued its mandate affirming the denial of relief. (Doc.
12, Ex. 7.) Another 40 days of untolled time, for a grand total of 370 days, passed before
Chamblee filed his federal habeas petition by providing it to prison officials for mailing on
February 9, 2016.1 Accordingly, Chamblee’s petition is untimely because it was filed after
the one-year limitations period expired.
Finally, the Court notes that Chamblee filed a motion for return of property on May
29, 2014, which the state court dismissed as facially insufficient on June 6, 2014. (Doc. 12,
Ex. 8.) His second motion for return of property, filed on July 22, 2014, was treated as a
motion for rehearing and denied on December 19, 2014. (Id.) The state appellate court
reversed and remanded on November 25, 2015, and its mandate issued on December 15,
2015. (Id.) It appears that the motion for return of property therefore may have been
pending in the state trial court in early 2016 pursuant to the remand. However, this has no
effect on the timeliness determination.
The limitations period is tolled under § 2244(d)(2) during the pendency of a “properly
filed application for State post-conviction or other collateral review.” However, Chamblee’s
motion for return of property was not an application for postconviction or other collateral
review. The Supreme Court has defined collateral review as “a judicial reexamination of
a judgment or claim in a proceeding outside of the direct review process.” Wall v. Kholi,
562 U.S. 545, 553 (2011).
Chamblee’s motion for return of property did not involve a judicial reexamination of

1

Although Chamblee’s federal habeas petition was not initially received by the Court, the
Court determined that the petition would be deemed filed on February 9, 2016, when Chamblee
provided it to prison officials for mailing. (Doc. 3.)

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a judgment or claim. Rather, he asked for the return of items of personal property that he
alleged were being held by police, and the scope of the state court’s review would not have
extended beyond determining the appropriate custody of such property. See Justice v.
State, 944 So.2d 538, 539 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006) (a trial court’s authority “over property
seized or obtained in connection with the proceeding . . . continues beyond the termination
of the prosecution, thus enabling the court to direct the return of the property to its rightful
owner.”) (quoting Stevens v. State, 929 So.2d 1197, 1198 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)). As the
state court therefore would not have engaged in a reexamination of the judgment,
Chamblee’s motion for return of property was not an application for collateral review that
tolled his AEDPA limitations period. See Day v. Chatman, 130 Fed. App’x 349, 351 (11th
Cir. 2005) (“Day’s . . . motions for return of property did not toll the limitations period
because the motions were not ‘application[s] for State post-conviction or other collateral
review with respect to the pertinent judgment [of Day’s conviction]” as required by 28
U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2).”). Accordingly, Chamblee’s petition is untimely under § 2244(d)(1)(A).
EQUITABLE TOLLING; ACTUAL INNOCENCE
The one-year limitations period set forth in § 2244(d) “is subject to equitable tolling
in appropriate cases.” Holland v. Florida, 560 U.S. 631, 645 (2010). In addition, a showing
of actual innocence may permit the consideration of a time-barred habeas petition.
McQuiggin v. Perkins, __ U.S. __, 133 S.Ct. 1924, 1928 (2013). However, Chamblee does
not assert that he is entitled to equitable tolling or that he is actually innocent.
Accordingly,
It is ORDERED that Chamblee’s petition (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED as time-barred.

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The Clerk is directed to enter judgment against Chamblee and to close this case.
CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY AND
LEAVE TO APPEAL IN FORMA PAUPERIS DENIED
It is further ORDERED that Chamblee is not entitled to a certificate of appealability
(COA). A prisoner seeking a writ of habeas corpus has no absolute entitlement to appeal
a district court’s denial of his petition. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1). Rather, a district court must
first issue a COA. Id. “A [COA] may issue … only if the applicant has made a substantial
showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” Id. at § 2253(c)(2). To merit a COA,
Chamblee must show that reasonable jurists would find debatable both (1) the merits of the
underlying claims and (2) the procedural issues he seeks to raise. See id.; Slack v.
McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 478 (2000); Eagle v. Linahan, 279 F.3d 926, 935 (11th Cir 2001).
Because the petition is clearly time-barred, Chamblee cannot satisfy the second prong of
the Slack test. 529 U.S. at 484. Finally, because Chamblee is not entitled to a COA, he is
not entitled to appeal in forma pauperis.
ORDERED at Tampa, Florida, on May 30, 2017.

William Lee Chamblee
Counsel of Record

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