Source: http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/484/486/580419/
Timestamp: 2013-12-13 12:32:56
Document Index: 389288709

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

484 F.3d 486: Albert L. Pierson, Petitioner-appellant, v. Dave Dormire, Respondent-appellee :: US Court of Appeals Cases :: Justia
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484 F.3d 486: Albert L. Pierson, Petitioner-appellant, v. Dave Dormire, Respondent-appelleeUnited States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit. - 484 F.3d 486
Eric C. Bohnet, argued, Indianapolis, IN, for appellant.
Andrew W. Hassell, argued, AAG, Jefferson City, MO, for appellee.
Albert Pierson appeals the district court's denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Pierson argues that the district court erred in finding that his petition was untimely because it was not filed within the one-year period of limitation imposed
[484 F.3d 488]
by 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1). For the reasons stated below, we reverse the judgment of the district court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Pierson was convicted in Missouri state court on October 19, 1998 of first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. He was sentenced to thirty years in prison on the robbery conviction and ten years in prison for the armed criminal action, to be served concurrently. The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction on January 11, 2000. State v. Pierson, 24 S.W.3d 720 (Mo.Ct.App.2000) (per curiam). Under Missouri law, Pierson had fifteen days (until January 26, 2000) in which to file a motion for rehearing in the Missouri Court of Appeals, see Mo. R. Civ. P. 84.17, or a motion to transfer to the Missouri Supreme Court, see Mo. R. Civ. P. 83.02. He did neither, and the Missouri Court of Appeals issued its mandate on February 15, 2000. Pierson did not file a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.
On April 13, 2000, Pierson filed a motion for state post-conviction relief in a Missouri circuit court. The court denied relief on July 6, 2001. The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of post-conviction relief on September 17, 2002. Pierson v. State, 85 S.W.3d 701 (Mo.Ct.App.2002) (per curiam). Again, Pierson had fifteen days, or until October 2, 2002, in which to file a motion for rehearing or a motion to transfer to the Missouri Supreme Court. He did not file either motion, and the Missouri Court of Appeals issued its mandate denying Pierson's claim for state post-conviction relief on October 23, 2002.
Pierson then filed this petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Pierson's habeas petition was deemed filed on October 21, 2003, when he placed his petition in the prison mail system. See Sulik v. Taney Co., Mo., 316 F.3d 813, 815 (8th Cir.2003) (noting that "the benefits of the prison mailbox rule" extend to "pro se state prisoners who file 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petitions").
The district court initially denied Pierson's habeas petition because it was untimely. Under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1), a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a state court has one year in which to file a writ of habeas corpus in federal court. Absent other circumstances not present in this case, the one-year limitations period runs from "the date on which the judgment became final by the conclusion of direct review or the expiration of the time for seeking such review." Id. § 2244(d)(1)(A). In its order, dated February 24, 2006, the court first determined the date Pierson's state proceedings became final. Citing Smith v. Bowersox, 159 F.3d 345, 348 (8th Cir.1998), the court stated that Pierson's state conviction arguably did not become final until the expiration of the ninety-day period for seeking a writ of certiorari from the United States Supreme Court. Giving Pierson the benefit of ninety days from January 11, 2000 &#x2014; the date the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed Pierson's conviction&#x2014;the district court found that his state conviction became final on April 10, 2000. Under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(A), Pierson had one year, or 365 days, from April 10, 2000 in which to file his federal habeas petition.
The one-year period is tolled while a properly filed motion for state post-conviction relief is pending. 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2). The court found that three days elapsed between April 10, 2000 and
[484 F.3d 489]
April 13, 20001, the date Pierson filed his motion for state post-conviction relief. This left Pierson with 362 days in which to file his petition, excluding tolling. The district court found that Pierson's petition was tolled while his state post-conviction case was pending (from April 13, 2000 until September 17, 2002), and until the expiration of the fifteen days during which he was allowed to seek rehearing of that decision (October 2, 2002).
Pierson argued that the limitations period should have been tolled until October 23, 2002, the date on which the Missouri Court of Appeals issued its mandate in his state post-conviction case. The district court rejected this argument. Instead, it added the remaining 362 days of the one-year statutory period to October 2, 2002, and found that Pierson was required to file his habeas petition no later than September 30, 2003. Because he did not place his petition in the mail until October 21, 2003, the district court held that his petition was untimely. The court did not issue a certificate of appealability.
On March 17, 2006, our court issued its decision in Payne v. Kemna,