Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-16-01744/USCOURTS-ca8-16-01744-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Wendy Kelley
Appellee
Dustin McDaniels
Appellee
Jerome M. Meraz
Appellant
Tony Rodgers
Appellee
Mike Shelite
Appellee

Document Text:

United States Court of Appeals

For the Eighth Circuit

___________________________

No. 16-1744

___________________________

Jerome M. Meraz

lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

Tony Rodgers; Wendy Kelley, Director, Arkansas Department of Correction; Mike

Shelite; Dustin McDaniels

lllllllllllllllllllll Defendants - Appellees

____________

Appeal from United States District Court 

for the Western District of Arkansas - Harrison

____________

 Submitted: December 16, 2016

Filed: December 21, 2016

[Unpublished]

____________

Before SMITH, BOWMAN, and BENTON, Circuit Judges. 

____________

PER CURIAM.

Appellate Case: 16-1744 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/21/2016 Entry ID: 4482152 
Jerome Meraz—who pleaded guilty in Arkansas in 2008 to stalking,

kidnapping, residential burglary, and misdemeanortheft—appeals fromthe judgment

of the District Court denying his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition as time-barred. 1

Following de novo review, we agree with the District Court that the petition

is time-barred. Even if we were to assume that the one-year limitations period under

28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1) was tolled during the pendency of Meraz’s collateral

challenges to his criminal conviction in state court, his federal petition was still

untimely filed with no grounds for equitable tolling. See Camacho v. Hobbs, 774

F.3d 931, 934–35 (8th Cir.) (discussing the dismissal of a § 2254 petition as timebarred following an Arkansas plea proceeding), cert. denied, 136 S. Ct. 81 (2015);

Burns v. Prudden, 588 F.3d 1148, 1150 (8th Cir. 2009) (standard of review for

equitable tolling).

We therefore affirm the judgment of the district court. We also grant counsel’s

request to withdraw, and we deny as moot Meraz’s pending motion.

______________________________

The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks, United States District Judge for the

1

Western District of Arkansas, adopting the report and recommendations of the

Honorable Mark E. Ford, United States Magistrate Judge for the Western District of

Arkansas.

-2-

Appellate Case: 16-1744 Page: 2 Date Filed: 12/21/2016 Entry ID: 4482152