Opinion ID: 2500628
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The relationship between good cause for delay in filing a petition and the test for a Brady violation

Text: NRS 34.726 limits the time in which a post-conviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus that challenges a judgment of conviction or sentence may be filed. Such a petition must be filed within one year after entry of the judgment of conviction or, if a timely appeal is taken from the judgment, within one year after this court issues its remittitur, absent a showing of good cause for the delay. NRS 34.726(1); Dickerson v. State, 114 Nev. 1084, 967 P.2d 1132 (1998) (holding that NRS 34.726(1) refers to timely direct appeal). Huebler did not pursue a direct appeal, and he filed his petition on May 26, 2006, more than two years after the judgment of conviction was entered on October 24, 2003. Thus, Huebler's petition was untimely filed and procedurally barred absent a demonstration of good cause for the delay. To show good cause for delay under NRS 34.726(1), a petitioner must demonstrate two things: [t]hat the delay is not the fault of the petitioner and that the petitioner will be unduly prejudice[d] if the petition is dismissed as untimely. Under the first requirement, a petitioner must show that an impediment external to the defense prevented him or her from complying with the state procedural default rules. Hathaway v. State, 119 Nev. 248, 252, 71 P.3d 503, 506 (2003) (citing Lozada v. State, 110 Nev. 349, 353, 871 P.2d 944, 946 (1994)). An impediment external to the defense may be demonstrated by a showing `that the factual or legal basis for a claim was not reasonably available to counsel, or that some interference by officials, made compliance impracticable.' Id. (quoting Murray v. Carrier, 477 U.S. 478, 488, 106 S.Ct. 2639, 91 L.Ed.2d 397 (1986) (citations and quotations omitted)). Under the second requirement, a petitioner must show that errors in the proceedings underlying the judgment worked to the petitioner's actual and substantial disadvantage. Hogan v. Warden, 109 Nev. 952, 959-60, 860 P.2d 710, 716 (1993). We give deference to the district court's factual findings regarding good cause, but we will review the court's application of the law to those facts de novo. See Lott v. Mueller, 304 F.3d 918, 922 (9th Cir.2002) (stating that district court's findings of facts are reviewed for clear error, but questions of law are reviewed de novo); see also Lader v. Warden, 121 Nev. 682, 686, 120 P.3d 1164, 1166 (2005) (using similar reasoning for review of claims of ineffective assistance of counsel). [2] To demonstrate good cause for his delay, Huebler claimed below that the State violated Brady by withholding exculpatory evidence, that the State's withholding of the exculpatory evidence caused the delay, and that the withholding of the exculpatory evidence prejudiced him by making his guilty plea involuntary. Huebler's good-cause showing therefore is intertwined with the merits of his Brady claim. ` Brady and its progeny require a prosecutor to disclose evidence favorable to the defense when that evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment.' State v. Bennett, 119 Nev. 589, 599, 81 P.3d 1, 8 (2003) (quoting Mazzan v. Warden, 116 Nev. 48, 66, 993 P.2d 25, 36 (2000)). To prove a Brady violation, the accused must make three showings: (1) the evidence is favorable to the accused, either because it is exculpatory or impeaching; (2) the State withheld the evidence, either intentionally or inadvertently; and (3) `prejudice ensued, i.e., the evidence was material.' Id. (quoting Mazzan, 116 Nev. at 67, 993 P.2d at 37). When a Brady claim is raised in an untimely post-conviction petition for a writ of habeas corpus, the petitioner has the burden of pleading and proving specific facts that demonstrate both components of the good-cause showing required by NRS 34.726(1). Id. Those components parallel the second and third prongs of a Brady violation: establishing that the State withheld the evidence demonstrates that the delay was caused by an impediment external to the defense, [3] and establishing that the evidence was material generally demonstrates that the petitioner would be unduly prejudiced if the petition is dismissed as untimely. Id. Therefore, Huebler must establish both the second and third prongs of a Brady violation in order to overcome the procedural time bar. Because a claim that the State committed a Brady violation requires consideration of both factual circumstances and legal issues, we conduct a de novo review of the district court's decision resolving a Brady claim. Id. (citing Mazzan, 116 Nev. at 66, 993 P.2d at 36).