Source: http://ca.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20110127_0000694.CCA.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 14:13:58+00:00

Document:
On May 18, 2010, petitioner Reginald Nelson Craig ("Petitioner"), a California prisoner incarcerated at Correctional Training Facility and proceeding pro se, filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State Custody ("Petition") pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254.
On September 2, 2010, Respondent filed a Motion to Dismiss the Petition ("Motion"), asserting that the Petition is barred by the one-year statute of limitation set forth in the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act ("AEDPA"), 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1). On October 6, 2010, Petitioner filed an Opposition to the Motion ("Opposition"). On October 19, 2010, Respondent filed a Reply to the Opposition ("Reply").
Now, having conducted a de novo review, including studying the Motion, the Opposition, the Reply, the R&R, and the Objections, the Court is persuaded that the Petition is untimely and Petitioner failed to establish, as is his burden, the right to equitable tolling. This Court, therefore, adopts the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the Magistrate Judge. The Court also denies Petitioner's requests for an evidentiary hearing and the appointment of counsel.
AEDPA's one-year statute of limitations may be equitably tolled "only when extraordinary circumstances beyond a prisoner's control make it impossible to file a petition on time and the extraordinary circumstances were the cause of his untimeliness." Laws v. Lamarque, 351 F.3d 919, 922 (9th Cir. 2003) (emphasis added) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). This standard requires petitioners, who bear the burden of establishing that equitable tolling is applicable to his or her case, see Miranda v. Castro, 292 F.3d 1063, 1065 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1003 (2002), to meet a "very high threshold" in order to benefit from equitable tolling. United States v. Battles, 362 F.3d 1195, 1197 (9th Cir. 2004); see also Miranda, 292 F.3d at 1066 ("[T]he threshold necessary to trigger equitable tolling under AEDPA is very high, lest the exceptions swallow the rule.") (internal quotation marks, brackets and citation omitted). Not surprisingly, in light of this high threshold, "equitable tolling is unavailable in most cases[.]" Miles v. Prunty, 187 F.3d 1104, 1107 (9th Cir. 1999).
Here, Petitioner's contention as to why he is entitled to equitable tolling has consistently been rejected by the courts. For example, it is well established that a criminal defendant has no constitutional right to counsel in state or federal habeas corpus proceedings. See Pennsylvania v. Finley, 481 U.S. 551, 555 (1987) ("the right to appointed counsel extends to the first appeal of right, and no further"); Bonin v. Vasquez, 999 F.2d 425, 429 (9th Cir. 1993) ("Clearly, there is no constitutional right to counsel [i]n habeas [proceedings].").
Moreover, the Court notes that state prisoner habeas petitions are routinely filed on a pro se basis. To allow equitable tolling based on the mere fact that most prisoners do not have legal knowledge or training would create a loophole that would wholly swallow the intent and effect of the AEDPA limitation period. Under the circumstances here, Petitioner's pro se status is insufficient to warrant the granting of equitable tolling. See, e.g., 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"); Chaffer v. Prosper, 592 F.3d 1046, 1049 (9th Cir. 2010) (per curiam) (prisoner's pro se status, law library missing reporter volumes, and reliance on inmate helpers who were transferred or too busy to attend to his petitions are not extraordinary circumstances "given the vicissitudes of prison life").

References: § 2254
 § 2244
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