Opinion ID: 206145
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Applying Equitable Tolling.

Text: That equitable tolling is available under section 2255(f) does not mean that it applies here. We begin this latter inquiry with general principles. A court's power to invoke equitable tolling must be exercised case by case. See Holland, 130 S.Ct. at 2563; Baggett v. Bullitt, 377 U.S. 360, 375, 84 S.Ct. 1316, 12 L.Ed.2d 377 (1964). To preserve the usefulness of statutes of limitations as rules of law, equitable tolling should be invoked only `sparingly.' Farquharson, 366 F.3d at 42 (quoting Irwin v. Dep't of Vet. Affairs, 498 U.S. 89, 96, 111 S.Ct. 453, 112 L.Ed.2d 435 (1990)). In order to assuage this concern, we have recognized that equitable tolling is available only in cases in which circumstances beyond the litigant's control have prevented [her] from promptly filing. Cordle v. Guarino, 428 F.3d 46, 48 (1st Cir.2005) (alteration in original) (quoting Lattimore v. Dubois, 311 F.3d 46, 55 (1st Cir.2002)). These background principles inform our inquiry. A habeas petitioner bears the burden of establishing the basis for equitable tolling. Riva v. Ficco, 615 F.3d 35, 39 (1st Cir.2010) (citing Holland, 130 S.Ct. at 2562). To carry this burden, the petitioner must show `(1) that he has been pursuing his rights diligently, and (2) that some extraordinary circumstance stood in his way' and prevented timely filing. Holland, 130 S.Ct. at 2562 (quoting Pace v. DiGuglielmo, 544 U.S. 408, 418, 125 S.Ct. 1807, 161 L.Ed.2d 669 (2005)); see Trapp v. Spencer, 479 F.3d 53, 61 (1st Cir.2007) (listing additional factors that may influence whether or not to grant equitable tolling). Because equitable decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, the determination of whether to toll a limitations period for equitable reasons is fact-intensive. See Holland, 130 S.Ct. at 2565. In the case at hand, the record is sparse concerning a number of salient facts relevant to equitable tolling. Given these gaps, we think it unwise to attempt to resolve the petitioner's equitable tolling claim here and now. To illustrate why we have reached this conclusion, we highlight some areas in which further development of the facts would prove useful. Equitable tolling normally requires a finding of extraordinary circumstances. See, e.g., Riva, 615 F.3d at 39. In this case the extraordinary circumstances limned by the petitioner involve, among other things, the alleged failure of Rosado (a paralegal purportedly associated with the petitioner's appellate counsel and paid by the petitioner's family to prepare a section 2255 petition) to do what he had agreed to do. [S]ometimes, professional misconduct [may] ... amount to egregious behavior and create an extraordinary circumstance that warrants equitable tolling. Holland 130 S.Ct. at 2563; accord United States v. Martin, 408 F.3d 1089, 1093 (8th Cir.2005); Baldayaque, 338 F.3d at 152; United States v. Wynn, 292 F.3d 226, 230 (5th Cir.2002). Here, however, the matter is not clear-cut. Cases in which professional failings have been judged sufficiently egregious to warrant a finding of extraordinary circumstances typically have involved misconduct by attorneys. See, e.g., Martin, 408 F.3d at 1093-96; Spitsyn v. Moore, 345 F.3d 796, 801 (9th Cir. 2003). Rosado is only a paralegalbut a paralegal who may have been working with (or for) an attorney. On the record before us, the relationship between Rosado and the lawyer is opaque. Better information on this point might well be significant in the equitable tolling calculus. To compound the problem, the record does not speak with any degree of clarity to the specifics of Rosado's engagement by the petitioner. While the record indicates that the petitioner's relatives paid Rosado a substantial sum of money to prepare a section 2255 petition, it lacks any detail about the parameters of the relationship. The record does confirm that Rosado failed to respond to a myriad of telephone calls that the petitioner placed to him and that no Rosado-prepared petition was ever filed on the petitioner's behalf. The gaps, however, leave unanswered serious questions about the reasonableness vel non of the petitioner's reliance on Rosado and the likelihood that he was misled. Equitable tolling is not intended as a device to rescue those who inexcusably sleep upon their rights. A habeas petitioner who seeks the balm of equitable tolling must show that he has exercised reasonable diligence to protect his own interests. Holland, 130 S.Ct. at 2565 (citing Lonchar v. Thomas, 517 U.S. 314, 326, 116 S.Ct. 1293, 134 L.Ed.2d 440 (1996)). Be that as it may, this requirement does not demand a showing that the petitioner left no stone unturned. Baldayaque, 338 F.3d at 153. On this question, too, paucity of information is a matter of concern. Applying such a standard necessitates that an inquiring court have a sufficient factual basis to understand what choices the petitioner had and how he made those choices. See id. The record here is too underdeveloped to allow this sort of reasoned analysis. We can tell that the petitioner made some efforts both to file a petition and to keep tabs as to what progress was being made. For example, he tried to obtain a transcript of his change-of-plea hearing, placed repeated telephone calls to Rosado, and submitted numerous pro se filings. But these efforts represent only part of the picture, and the record is silent as to when and by what means the petitioner became aware that Rosado was not performing his assigned task. What the petitioner knew and when he knew it are important in assessing his diligence. See, e.g., Barreto-Barreto v. United States, 551 F.3d 95, 101 (1st Cir.2008). On this threadbare record, we simply cannot answer these questions. In addition, both extraordinary circumstances and reasonable diligence depend on the totality of the circumstances. See Trapp, 479 F.3d at 61. In attempting to assemble the components of that totality, the petitioner points to considerations such as his limited education and lack of familiarity with the English language, the frustration of his efforts to learn English while incarcerated so that he could prepare his own petition, prison transfers and isolation due to lockdowns during the period between November of 2007 and February of 2008, and the like. Although any one of these factors, standing alone, may be insufficient to excuse a failure to file a timely habeas petition, see, e.g., Akins v. United States, 204 F.3d 1086, 1089-90 (11th Cir.2000) (declining to apply equitable tolling where petitioner was subject to lockdown but record indicated he had the opportunity to file his motion when lockdown was not in place), the whole may be greater than the sum of the parts. The record is exiguous as to most of these points and, therefore, fuller development of them is desirable.