Opinion ID: 3033209
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: facts

Text: On December 21, 1992, a Nevada jury convicted Jefferson of three counts of robbery with use of a deadly weapon and one count each of burglary, battery with use of a deadly weapon, and attempted sexual assault with a deadly weapon. Jefferson’s first full round of state collateral proceedings became final on July 1, 1999. Jefferson filed a timely federal habeas petition on February 10, 2000. The district court granted respondent’s motion to dismiss, finding that Jefferson’s petition contained both exhausted and unexhausted claims. Judgment dismissing Jefferson’s entire federal petition without prejudice issued the same day, March 20, 2001.2 Jefferson filed a motion for 1 Appellee contends that Jefferson waived the sole issue certified on appeal because he failed to address it in his opening brief. See, e.g., United States v. Ullah, 976 F.2d 509, 514 (9th Cir. 1992) (recognizing that in general the court declines to reach any issue not raised in an appellant’s opening brief). Because we find that a number of the exceptions to that rule apply here, including that there is no prejudice to appellee and that appellee was on notice of the certified issue and had a full opportunity to present argument on the issue, we exercise our discretion to consider the merits of the certified issue. See Koerner v. Grigas, 328 F.3d 1039, 1048-49 (9th Cir. 2003). 2 The one-year statute of limitations had run by this date. Because Jefferson’s conviction became final before the AEDPA was enacted, he had JEFFERSON v. BUDGE 10789 reconsideration on April 3, 2001, which the district court denied on October 15, 2001. Jefferson returned to state court, filing a “Petition for Writ of Certiorari or in the Alternative Petition for Writ of Mandamus” on November 20, 2001. The Nevada Supreme Court denied the petition a month later on December 20, 2001. A notice in lieu of remittitur issued on January 15, 2002. Jefferson filed the instant federal habeas petition and request to proceed in forma pauperis on January 14, 2002. On March 25, 2002, the district court denied Jefferson’s IFP request and ordered him to pay the $5.00 filing fee. The court further stated that, until Jefferson paid the filing fee, the court clerk would retain, but not file, his habeas petition. On April 8, 2002, the court received Jefferson’s filing fee. On May 3, 2002, the court determined that Jefferson’s petition failed to contain sufficient facts to support his allegations of constitutional error, and ordered him to file an amended petition within 30 days of the date of the order. Jefferson filed his amended petition on May 17, 2002. The district court dismissed Jefferson’s petition as untimely under the statute of limitations established by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(A), and entered judgment the same day. Jefferson timely appealed. The district court construed Jefferson’s notice of appeal as a request for a certificate of appealability and denied the request. On appeal, we granted a certificate of appealability on the issue of “[w]hether, in light of Smith v. until April 24, 1997 to file a timely petition, absent tolling. See Bunney v. Mitchell, 262 F.3d 973, 974 (9th Cir. 2001) (per curiam). Jefferson was properly pursuing his state post-conviction remedies from 1995 until July 1, 1999, when the Nevada Supreme Court issued its remittitur; all of this time was tolled pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2). The one-year clock started ticking for Jefferson on July 2, 1999, and expired on July 1, 2000. 10790 JEFFERSON v. BUDGE Ratelle, 323 F.3d 813 (9th Cir. 2003), appellant’s habeas petition related back to his previously dismissed petition.”