Branham v. Montana, No. 19-35829 (9th Cir. 2021)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment dismissing as barred by the one-year statute of limitations a Montana state prisoner's habeas corpus petition brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254. The panel concluded that the one-year period begins to run upon "the conclusion of direct review" of the conviction, and it is suspended during the pendency of any "properly filed application for State post-conviction or other collateral review." The panel held that a proceeding in the Sentence Review Division of the Montana Supreme Court constitutes collateral review, rather than direct review, making the petition here untimely.
Court Description: Habeas Corpus. The panel affirmed the district court’s judgment dismissing as barred by the one-year statute of limitations a Montana state prisoner’s habeas corpus petition brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d), the one-year period begins to run upon “the conclusion of direct review” of the conviction, and it is suspended during the pendency of any “properly filed application for State post-conviction or other collateral review.” The panel held that a proceeding in the Sentence Review Division of the Montana Supreme Court is collateral review, not direct review, which rendered the petition in this case untimely. * The Honorable Michael R. Murphy, United States Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, sitting by designation. BRANHAM V. STATE OF MONTANA 3
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