Carter v. Hodge, No. 13-2243 (7th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseCarter, an Illinois prison inmate, sought habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. 2254. His petition was transferred to Illinois in June, 2010. On December 5, having heard nothing about the status of his case, Carter inquired. The clerk’s office incorrectly responded: “As of this date, the Court has taken no further action on the requested case. When an order is entered, you will be promptly notified by mail.” The district court had actually denied Carter’s petition in February 2011. The opinion was not sent or otherwise made available to Carter. After more than a year, Carter again wrote the clerk and was correctly informed that his petition had been denied two years earlier. Fewer than 30 days later, Carter filed a notice of appeal and a petition for a certificate of appealability. The district court did not docket his papers until about six weeks later. The Seventh Circuit allowed an appeal. While Federal Rule 58(c)(2)(B) provides that a judgment is deemed entered 150 days after the court’s decision, it does not set an appeal deadline. A jurisdictional rule is not waivable, but the Rule is subject to equitable tolling.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on March 30, 2016.
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