Opinion ID: 810377
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Time-barred issues

Text: In concluding that certain issues were time-barred, the district court observed the statutory time limits applicable to § 2255 motions. Specifically, 28 U.S.C. § 2255(f) provides that A 1-year period of limitation shall apply to a motion under this section. The limitation period shall run from the latest of– (1) the date on which the judgment of conviction becomes final; (2) the date on which the impediment to making a motion created by governmental action in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States is removed, if the movant was prevented from making a motion by such governmental action; (3) the date on which the right asserted was initially recognized by the Supreme Court, if that right has been newly recognized by the Supreme Court and made retroactively applicable to cases on collateral review; or -4- (4) the date on which the facts supporting the claim or claims presented could have been discovered through the exercise of due diligence. In the absence of an appeal, a criminal conviction becomes final upon the expiration of the time in which to take a direct criminal appeal. United States v. Prows, 448 F.3d 1223, 1227-28 (10th Cir. 2006). Under the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, the time for a direct criminal appeal expired fourteen days after the entry of the judgment being appealed. Thus, Mr. Lichfield’s conviction became final on February 4, 2011 (fourteen days after January 21, 2011). Applying the time limits of § 2255(f), the district court correctly observed that Mr. Lichfield’s § 2255 motion had to be filed, at the latest, by February 4, 2012 (one year after February 4, 2011). Thus, Mr. Lichfield’s initial § 2255 motion and his “Amended Motion” (filed on October 21, 2011 and January 3, 2012, respectively) were timely, but his “reply” brief, filed on March 22, 2012, to the extent that it sought to raise new claims, was not. That is not, however, necessarily fatal to his reply brief. “Pursuant to Rule 15(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, an untimely amendment to a timely § 2255 motion which, by way of additional facts, clarifies or amplifies a claim or theory in the original motion may, in the District Court’s discretion, relate back to the date of the original motion. . . .” United States v. Weeks, 653 F.3d 1188, 1206 n.12 (10th Cir. 2011) (quoting United States v. Espinoza-Saenz, 235 F.3d 501, 505 (10th Cir. 2000)). -5- While some of Mr. Lichfield’s claims in his “reply” brief related back to his timely filings, the district court found that his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel relating to his plea agreement, his guilty plea, the failure to file a direct appeal and conflict of interest were new and did not relate back. As a result, the district court correctly found itself without jurisdiction to consider those four claims. See In re Cline, 531 F.3d 1249, 1251 (10th Cir. 2008) (“A district court does not have jurisdiction to address the merits of a second or successive § 2255 . . . claim until [the appropriate court of appeals] has granted the required authorization.”).