Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_12-cv-01157/USCOURTS-azd-2_12-cv-01157-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 530
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Petitions - Habeas Corpus
Cause of Action: 28:2254 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (State)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Nathan Rawls, 

Petitioner, 

vs.

Chuck Ryan, et al., 

Respondents. 

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No. CV-12-01157-PHX-ROS

ORDER

Pending before the Court is a Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) and Petitioner’s

objections thereto. For the reasons below, the Court will adopt the R&R.

A. Procedural Background

On May 30, 2012, Petitioner filed his Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (the

“Petition”). (Doc. 1). The Petition raises one ground for relief, claiming Petitioner was

denied his Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment due process rights because the Maricopa County

Superior Court “proceeded in excess of jurisdiction and subject matter jurisdiction and legal

authority, by hearing and ruling and ordering a decision to dismiss the petitioner’s filed

notice of post conviction relief.” (Doc. 1, at 6). In its Answer, Respondents argue

Petitioner’s Petition must be dismissed as untimely. (Doc. 16). The Magistrate Judge issued

the R&R, recommending the Petition be denied and dismissed with prejudice because

Petitioner’s claim is untimely. (Doc. 18). Petitioner filed objections. (Doc. 19).

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B. Analysis

1. Legal Standard

A district judge “may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or

recommendations made by the magistrate judge.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b). Where any party has

filed timely objections to the magistrate judge's report and recommendations, the district

court’s review of the part objected to is to be de novo. Id.; see also United States v. ReynaTapia, 328 F.3d 1114, 1121 (9th Cir. 2003); Schmidt v. Johnstone, 263 F. Supp. 2d 1219,

1226 (D. Ariz. 2003).

2. Statute of Limitations

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”) sets forth the

statute of limitations for federal petitions for writ of habeas corpus by state prisoners. 28

U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1). The AEDPA provides:

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.

Id. 

Under Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure 32, An “of-right” petition for

post-conviction review, available to criminal defendants who plead guilty, is a “direct

review” under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(A). Summers v. Schriro, 481 F.3d 710, 711 (9th Cir.

2007). Therefore, the judgment of conviction is final when the Rule 32 of-right proceeding

concludes or when the time for seeking such review expires. Id. A state petition filed after

the state time limit is not “properly filed” and, therefore, does not toll the statute of

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limitations. Pace v. DiGuglielmo, 544 U.S. 408, 413 (2005). “When a postconviction

petition is untimely under state law, ‘that [is] the end of the matter’ for purposes of §

2244(d)(2).” Id. at 414.

Petitioner was sentenced under a plea agreement on May 12, 2000. Petitioner had 90

days to file a Rule 32 “of-right” petition for post-conviction relief. Ariz. R. Crim. P. 32.4(a).

Petitioner did not file a Rule 32 “of-right” petition within 90 days. Therefore, the statute of

limitations began to run on August 11, 2000, which was the day after the 90-day period

expired. The statute of limitations expired one year later on August 11, 2001.

On February 6, 2002, nearly six months after the statute of limitations expired,

Petitioner filed his untimely petition for post-conviction relief. This petition did not toll the

statute of limitations because the statute of limitations had passed by the time the petition was

filed. Pace, 544 U.S. at 417. Petitioner filed a series of ten post-conviction petitions, none

of which restarted the expired statute of limitations. Jiminez v. Rice, 276 F.3d 478, 482 (9th

Cir. 2001). The instant habeas petition was filed May 30, 2012, over 10 years after the

statute of limitations expired. The Petition is untimely.

Petitioner does not dispute that his claims were filed after the statute of limitations,

but argues the statute of limitations should be equitably tolled. The AEDPA’s statute of

limitations period may be equitably tolled in appropriate cases. E.g., Holland v. Florida, 130

S.Ct. 2549, 2560 (2010). Equitable tolling is appropriate when “‘extraordinary

circumstances’ beyond a [petitioner’s] control make it impossible to file a petition on time.”

Calderon v. United States Dist. Ct. for Cent. Dist. of Calif., 128 F.3d 1283, 1288 (9th Cir.

1997), overruled in part on other grounds by Calderon v. United States Dist. Ct. for Cent.

Dist. of Calif., 163 F.3d 530, 540 (9th Cir. 1998). Equitable tolling is only appropriate when

“‘extraordinary circumstances’ beyond a [petitioner’s] control make it impossible to file a

petition on time.” Id. “[T]he threshold necessary to trigger equitable tolling [under AEDPA]

is very high, lest the exceptions swallow the rule.” Miranda v. Castro, 292 F.3d 1063, 1066

(9th Cir. 2002) (citations omitted). 

To establish equitable tolling, Petitioner must show “‘(1) that he has been pursuing

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his rights diligently and (2) that some extraordinary circumstances stood in his way’” and

prevented him from filing a timely petition. Holland v. Florida, 130 S.Ct. at 2562 (quoting

Pace, 544 U.S. at 418). Petitioner must also establish a “causal connection” between the

extraordinary circumstance “and his failure to file a timely habeas petition.” Bryant v.

Arizona Attorney General, 499 F.3d 1056, 1060 (9th Cir. 2007).

Petitioner argues he “has been pursuing his rights diligently and that extraordinary

circumstances exist.” (Doc. 19, at 8). Petitioner argues the prison law library is inadequate

because it is only open for a few hours per week, Petitioner is in lock down when the library

is open (but Petitioner later states he was able to access the law library), books are available

on a first-come-first-serve basis, and it has a limited selection of books. Petitioner argues he

was forced to obtain legal authority from other inmates who had also filed habeas briefs. 

Limited access to a law library is not sufficient to establish extraordinary

circumstances. E.g., Delaney v. Matesanz, 264 F.3d 7, 15 (1st Cir. 2001) (no equitable

tolling where pro se petitioner stated he was ignorant of applicable law); Hall v. Warden,

Lebanon Corr. Inst., 662 F.3d 745, 752 (6th Cir. 2011 (pro se status, limited library access,

and delayed transcript not extraordinary circumstances requiring equitable tolling); Baker v.

Norris, 321 F.3d 769, 771-72 (8th Cir. 2003) (no equitable tolling where petitioner

complained of limited access to library); Raspberry v. Garcia, 448 F.3d 1150, 1154 (9th Cir.

2006) (“[A] pro se petitioner’s lack of legal sophistication is not, by itself, an extraordinary

circumstance warranting equitable tolling.”). Accordingly, Petitioner is not entitled to

equitable tolling. The Petition is time-barred.

Because the Petitioner is time-barred, the Court will adopt the R&R and need not

address Petitioner’s other objections.

Accordingly,

IT IS ORDERED the Report and Recommendation (Doc. 18) is ADOPTED in full.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED the Petition (Doc. 1) is DENIED and DISMISSED

WITH PREJUDICE.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED a Certificate of Appealability and leave to proceed in

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forma pauperis on appeal is DENIED because the dismissal of the Petition is justified by a

plain procedural bar and jurists of reason would not find the procedural ruling debatable.

DATED this 4th day of March, 2013.

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