Myers v. Hartley
Filing
15
FINDINGS And RECOMMENDATION Regarding Respondent's Motion To Dismiss (Doc. 14 ), signed by Magistrate Judge Sandra M. Snyder on 3/3/2010. It is RECOMMENDED that: Respondent's motion to dismiss the petition as untimely be GRANTED. The Clerk of Court be directed to dismiss the action with prejudice. F&R's referred to Judge Oliver W. Wanger; Objections to F&R due by 4/5/2010. (Scrivner, E)
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 8 9 10 11 12 J. HARTLEY, Warden 13 Respondent. 14 15 Petitioner is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a petition for writ of habeas corpus 16 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. 17 BACKGROUND 18 In the instant petition, Petitioner challenges the Board of Parole Hearings' (Board) 19 September 27, 2006 decision finding him unsuitable for release. 20 On November 7, 2008, Petitioner filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the Fresno 21 County Superior Court challenging the 2007 Board decision. (Exhibit 1, to Motion.) The 22 petition was denied on December 2, 2008. (Exhibit 2, to Motion.) 23 In December 2008, petitioner filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the California 24 Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District. (Exhibit 3, to Motion.) The petition was denied on 25 January 8, 2009. (Exhibit 4, to Motion.) 26 On February 22, 2009, Petitioner filed a petition in the California Supreme Court. 27 (Exhibit 5, to Motion.) The petition was denied on July 15, 2009. (Exhibit 6, to Motion.) 28 1 / v. TERRY MYERS, Petitioner, 1:09-cv-01565-OWW-SMS (HC) FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION REGARDING RESPONDENT'S MOTION TO DISMISS [Doc. 14]
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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Petitioner filed the instant petition on September 4, 2009. On January 11, 2010, Respondent filed the instant motion to dismiss. (Court Doc. 14.) Petitioner did not file an opposition. DISCUSSION Procedural Grounds for Motion to Dismiss Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases allows a district court to dismiss a petition if it "plainly appears from the petition and any attached exhibits that the petitioner is not entitled to relief in the district court . . . ." Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases. The Ninth Circuit has allowed respondents to file a motion to dismiss in lieu of an answer if the motion attacks the pleadings for failing to exhaust state remedies or being in violation of the state's procedural rules. See e.g., O'Bremski v. Maass, 915 F.2d 418, 420 (9th Cir. 1990) (using Rule 4 to evaluate motion to dismiss petition for failure to exhaust state remedies); White v. Lewis, 874 F.2d 599, 602-03 (9th Cir. 1989) (using Rule 4 as procedural grounds to review motion to dismiss for state procedural default); Hillery v. Pulley, 533 F.Supp. 1189, 1194 & n.12 (E.D. Cal. 1982) (same). Thus, a respondent can file a motion to dismiss after the court orders a response, and the Court should use Rule 4 standards to review the motion. See Hillery, 533 F.Supp. at 1194 & n. 12. In this case, Respondent's motion to dismiss is based on a violation of 28 U.S.C. 2244(d)(1)'s one-year limitations period. Therefore, the Court will review Respondent's motion to dismiss pursuant to its authority under Rule 4. B. Limitation Period for Filing a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus On April 24, 1996, Congress enacted the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA). The AEDPA imposes various requirements on all petitions for writ of habeas corpus filed after the date of its enactment. Lindh v. Murphy, 521 U.S. 320, 117 S.Ct. 2059, 2063 (1997); Jeffries v. Wood, 114 F.3d 1484, 1499 (9th Cir. 1997) (en banc), cert. denied, 118 S.Ct. 586 (1997). The instant petition was filed on September 4, 2009, and thus, it is subject to the provisions of the AEDPA.
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The AEDPA imposes a one year period of limitation on petitioners seeking to file a federal petition for writ of habeas corpus. 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1). As amended, Section 2244, subdivision (d) reads: (1) A 1-year period of limitation shall apply to an application for a writ of habeas corpus by a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court. The limitation period shall run from the latest of (A) the date on which the judgment became final by the conclusion of direct review or the expiration of the time for seeking such review; (B) the date on which the impediment to filing an application created by State action in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States is removed, if the applicant was prevented from filing by such State action; (C) the date on which the constitutional right asserted was initially recognized by the Supreme Court, if the right has been newly recognized by the Supreme Court and made retroactively applicable to cases on collateral review; or (D) the date on which the factual predicate of the claim or claims presented could have been discovered through the exercise of due diligence. (2) The time during which a properly filed application for State postconviction or other collateral review with respect to the pertinent judgment or claim is pending shall not be counted toward any period of limitation under this subsection. In most cases, the limitations period begins running on the date that the petitioner's direct review became final. In a situation such as this where the petitioner is challenging a parole board decision, the Ninth Circuit has held that direct review is concluded and the statute of limitations commences when the final administrative appeal is denied. See Redd v. McGrath, 343 F.3d 1077, 1079 (9th Cir.2003) (holding that § 2241(d)(1)(D) applies in the context of parole decisions and that the Board of Prison Term's denial of an inmate's administrative appeal is the "factual predicate" of the inmate's claim that triggers the commencement of the limitations period). "Section 2254 `is the exclusive vehicle for a habeas petition by a state prisoner in custody pursuant to a state court judgment, even when the petition is not challenging his underlying state court conviction.'" Sass v. Cal. Bd. of Prison Terms, 461 F.3d 1123, 1126-1127 (9th Cir.2006), quoting White v. Lambert, 370 F.3d 1002, 1009-10 (9th Cir.2004). Under the AEDPA, an 3
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application for habeas corpus will not be granted unless the adjudication of the claim "resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States" or "resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State Court proceeding." 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). In the context of reviewing parole decisions, due process requires that: 1) the inmate must receive advance written notice of a hearing, Pedro v. Oregon Parole Bd., 825 F.2d 1396, 1399 (9th Cir.1987); 2) the inmate must be afforded an "opportunity to be heard," Greenholtz v. Inmates of Neb. Penal and Corr. Complex, 442 U.S. 1, 16 (1979); 3) if the inmate is denied parole, the inmate must be told why "he falls short of qualifying for parole," Id.; and 4) the decision of the Board must be supported by "some evidence" having an indicia of reliability, Superintendent, Mass. Corr. Inst. v. Hill, 472 U.S. 445, 455 (1985); Cato v. Rushen, 824 F.2d 703, 705 (9th Cir.1987). In the instant petition, Petitioner contends that the Board's decision findings him unsuitable for release on parole violated his federal rights. The Board's 2006 decision became final on January 25, 2007-120 days thereafter. (Exhibit 1, to Motion.) Therefore, the statute of limitations began to run the following day on January 26, 2007, and was set to expire on January 25, 2008, absent applicable tolling. C. Tolling of the Limitation Period Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2) Title 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2) states that the "time during which a properly filed application for State post-conviction or other collateral review with respect to the pertinent judgment or claim is pending shall not be counted toward" the one year limitation period. 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2). In Carey v. Saffold, the Supreme Court held the statute of limitations is tolled where a petitioner is properly pursuing post-conviction relief, and the period is tolled during the intervals between one state court's disposition of a habeas petition and the filing of a habeas petition at the next level of the state court system. 536 U.S. 214 (2002). At the time Petitioner filed his first state habeas corpus petition on November 7, 2008, the limitations period had already expired several months earlier. Consequently, Petitioner is not entitled to statutory tolling for any of his state habeas petitions because they were all filed after 4
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the limitations period expired. See Ferguson v. Palmateer, 321 F.3d 820, 823 (9th Cir. 2003) ("[S]ection 2254 does not permit the reinitiation of the limitation period that has ended before the state petition was filed"); Laws v. Lamarque, 351 F.3d 919, 922 (9th Cir. 2003) (if first petition filed after expiration of limitations period, "statutory tolling cannot save his claim"); Green v. White, 223 F.3d 1001, 1003 (9th Cir.2000) (Petitioner is not entitled to tolling where the limitations period has already run). In addition, another 54 days expired after the California Supreme Court denied the petition on August 12, 2009 to the filing of the instant federal petition on October 5, 2009. See Mayle v. Felix, 545 U.S. 644, 644 (2005); Rhines v. Weber, 544 U.S. 269, 271 (2005); Nino v. Galaza, 183 F.3d 1003, 1007 (9th Cir. 1999). Accordingly, the instant petition for writ of habeas corpus is time-barred under § 2244(d). D. Equitable Tolling The limitations period is subject to equitable tolling if the petitioner demonstrates: "(1) that he has been pursuing his rights diligently, and (2) that some extraordinary circumstance stood in his way." Pace v. DiGuglielmo, 544 U.S. 408, 418 (2005); see also Irwin v. Department of Veteran Affairs, 498 U.S. 89, 96 (1990); Calderon v. U.S. Dist. Ct. (Kelly), 163 F.3d 530, 541 (9th Cir. 1998), citing Alvarez-Machain v. United States, 107 F.3d 696, 701 (9th Cir. 1996), cert denied, 522 U.S. 814 (1997). Petitioner bears the burden of alleging facts that would give rise to tolling. Pace, 544 U.S. at 418; Smith v. Duncan, 297 F.3d 809 (9th Cir.2002); Hinton v. Pac. Enters., 5 F.3d 391, 395 (9th Cir.1993). To the extent Petitioner contends that the limitations should be equitably tolled until receipt of the transcripts on July 6, 2007, his claim is without merit. As discussed, the limitations began to run on April 19, 2007-the date the Board decision became final, and the fact that Petitioner received a copy of the transcripts just over two months thereafter (and well within the limitations period) does not entitle him to equitable tolling, as it could not have been the cause of Petitioner's untimeliness. The Court therefore finds no reason to equitably toll the limitations period.
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Dated: icido3 IT IS SO ORDERED. March 3, 2010
RECOMMENDATION Based on the foregoing, it is HEREBY RECOMMENDED that: 1. Respondent's motion to dismiss the petition as untimely be GRANTED; and 2. The Clerk of Court be directed to dismiss the action with prejudice. This Findings and Recommendation is submitted to the assigned United States District Court Judge, pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. section 636 (b)(1)(B) and Rule 304 of the Local Rules of Practice for the United States District Court, Eastern District of California. Within thirty (30) days after being served with a copy, any party may file written objections with the court and serve a copy on all parties. Such a document should be captioned "Objections to Magistrate Judge's Findings and Recommendation." Replies to the objections shall be served and filed within fourteen (14) after service of the objections. The Court will then review the Magistrate Judge's ruling pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636 (b)(1)(C). The parties are advised that failure to file objections within the specified time may waive the right to appeal the District Court's order. Martinez v. Ylst, 951 F.2d 1153 (9th Cir. 1991).
/s/ Sandra M. Snyder UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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