Source: http://il.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20150320_0000614.NIL.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2017-11-23 02:20:55
Document Index: 31386679

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2254', '§ 5', '§ 5', '§ 1401', '§ 5', '§ 2244', '§ 2244', '§ 2244', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§1401', '§ 2244']

Petitioner Anthony Allen, who is currently incarcerated at Menard Correctional Center, is serving two concurrent life sentences for first degree felony murder and a concurrent term of thirty years for armed robbery. Allen has petitioned this Court for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Respondent has moved to dismiss Allen's petition as time-barred, arguing that Allen failed to file it within the one-year limitations period and that equitable tolling does not apply. Respondent further argues that Allen's claims of ineffective assistance of post-conviction counsel are not cognizable on federal review. Because Allen's petition is untimely, the Court grants the motion to dismiss [12].
On March 24, 1993, following a jury trial in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Allen was convicted of two counts of first degree murder and one count of armed robbery. Allen participated in the robbery of a liquor store clerk and, as he and his codefendants were fleeing, their car struck another vehicle, killing the occupants. The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed his conviction and sentence on December 8, 1995. Allen's petition for leave to appeal ("PLA") was denied by the Illinois Supreme Court on April 3, 1996. Allen did not file a petition for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court.
After filing an unsuccessful motion for extension of time, Allen filed his petition for post-conviction relief under 725 Ill. Comp. Stat. § 5/122-1 in the Circuit Court of Cook County on August 29, 1996. That petition was summarily dismissed and the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the dismissal. The Illinois Supreme Court denied Allen's PLA on March 31, 1999.
On July 12, 2000, Allen filed his first successive post-conviction petition in the Circuit Court of Cook County. That petition was denied on July 21, 2000, but reinstated on July 28, 2000. The circuit court denied the reinstated petition on January 10, 2001.
On November 3, 2008, Allen filed a petition for relief from judgment pursuant to 735 Ill. Comp. Stat. § 5/2-1401. The circuit court denied that petition on December 16, 2008. Allen appealed and the Office of the State Appellate Defender was appointed to represent him. Allen's appointed attorney moved to withdraw as counsel pursuant to Pennsylvania v. Finley, 481 U.S. 551, 107 S.Ct. 1990, 95 L.Ed.2d 259 (1987), arguing that Allen's petition did not present issues of arguable merit. The Illinois Appellate Court granted the request to withdraw and affirmed dismissal of the § 1401 petition. The Illinois Supreme Court denied the PLA on September 29, 2010.
On October 13, 2011, Allen filed a second successive post-conviction petition, but the circuit court denied Allen leave to file that petition. See 725 Ill. Comp. Stat. § 5/122-1(f) ("Only one petition may be filed by a petitioner... without leave of the court."). The Office of the State Appellate Defender was appointed as counsel for Allen's appeal of that denial. Allen's appointed attorney concluded that an appeal would be without arguable merit and moved to withdraw as counsel pursuant to Finley. The Illinois Appellate Court granted the request to withdraw and affirmed the denial of leave to file a second successive post-conviction petition. The Illinois Supreme Court denied Allen's PLA on September 25, 2013.
Allen filed the instant pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus on December 23, 2013.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1), a one-year statute of limitations applies to petitions for a writ of habeas corpus. The limitations period typically begins to run on the date on which Allen's judgment became final by the conclusion of direct review or the expiration of the time for seeking such review. 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(A). Here, Allen's judgment became final on July 2, 1996, when the time for filing a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on his direct appeal expired. See Gonzalez v. Thaler, ___ U.S. ___, 132 S.Ct. 641, 653-54, 181 L.Ed.2d 619 (2012) (judgment becomes final when time for pursuing direct review in Supreme Court expires); Anderson v. Litscher, 281 F.3d 672, 674-75 (7th Cir. 2002) ("Because the plain terms of section 2244 include the period for seeking direct review, regardless of whether or not a petitioner chooses to avail himself or herself of that opportunity, we believe that the ninety day period during which a petition for certiorari may be filed by a state prisoner falls within the meaning of section 2244(d)(1)(A) for purposes of calculating when the statute of limitations begins to run.").
The statute of limitations is tolled, however, while "a properly filed application for State post-conviction or other collateral review with respect to the pertinent judgment or claim is pending." 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2). From the time Allen's judgment became final until he filed his post-conviction petition on August 29, 1996, fifty-eight days of untolled time elapsed. The limitations period was then tolled until the Illinois Supreme Court denied Allen's post-conviction PLA on March 31, 1999. Therefore Allen had 307 days of untolled time, making his § 2254 petition due February 1, 2000. Allen filed his § 2254 petition on December 23, 2013, almost fourteen years too late.
None of Allen's subsequent post-conviction filings tolled the statute of limitations. Allen filed his first successive post-conviction petition on July 12, 2000, five months after the February 1, 2000 due date for his §2254 petition. For the purposes of § 2254 tolling, "a state proceeding that does not begin until the federal year has expired is irrelevant." De Jesus v. Acevedo, 567 F.3d 941, 943 (7th Cir. 2009). Therefore, none of the time the Illinois courts considered Allen's other post-conviction proceedings is counted in the tolling analysis. His § 2254 petition is untimely.
Allen does not address the statute of limitations issue in his response to the motion to dismiss. Rather, he reiterates points from his habeas petition. In the petition, Allen claims that the attorney appointed to appeal his §1401 petition denial failed to send him a copy of the Finley withdrawal brief in sufficient time for him to respond. Construing Allen's filings liberally, as the Court must do for pro se pleadings, Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007), this could be understood as an argument for statutory tolling. Section 2244(d)(1)(B) provides that the limitations period may start on "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." The burden is high-Allen is required to demonstrate that the state-created restrictions prevented him from filing his petition. Lloyd v. Van Natta, 296 F.3d 630, 633 (7th Cir. 2002) ("[T]he plain language of the statute makes clear that whatever constitutes an impediment must prevent a prisoner from filing his petition."). However the alleged failure of Allen's appointed appellate counsel to timely tender the Finley brief is not "state action" for the purposes of § 2244(d)(1)(B). See U.S. ex rel. Martinez v. Hodge, No. 12 C 2012, 2012 WL 1965447, at *3 (N.D. ...