Court Opinion

ID: 9786692
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 00:00:41.415825+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:43:23.035333
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-30461        Document: 00516878639             Page: 1      Date Filed: 08/30/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________
                                                                               United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 22-30461
                                    Summary Calendar                                  FILED
                                    ____________                                August 30, 2023
                                                                                 Lyle W. Cayce
   Carlos T. Lewis,                                                                   Clerk

                                                                   Petitioner—Appellant,

                                            versus

   Jerry Goodwin, Warden, David Wade Correctional Center,

                                               Respondent—Appellee.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                        for the Western District of Louisiana
                               USDC No. 3:22-CV-699
                     ______________________________

   Before Elrod, Oldham, and Wilson, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Carlos T. Lewis, Louisiana prisoner # 102982, appeals the time-bar
   denial of a 28 U.S.C. § 2254 application challenging his 2006 conviction for
   attempted distribution of cocaine and life sentence at hard labor without
   parole as a third-felony offender.            This court issued a certificate of
   appealability (COA) on the question whether he was entitled to equitable

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-30461      Document: 00516878639           Page: 2    Date Filed: 08/30/2023

                                     No. 22-30461

   tolling. We review the district court’s decision whether to apply equitable
   tolling for abuse of discretion. See Fisher v. Johnson, 174 F.3d 710, 713 (5th
   Cir. 1999).
          Because Lewis does not address the issue in his appellate brief, he
   abandons the only issue before the court. See United States v. Alaniz, 5 F.4th
   632, 635 (5th Cir. 2021); Yohey v. Collins, 985 F.2d 222, 224-25 (5th Cir.
   1993). Even if we were to consider the arguments raised in his COA brief,
   however, we would affirm.
          We need not address whether Lewis acted diligently because he does
   not identify any extraordinary circumstance that stood in his way and
   prevented him from timely filing a § 2254 application. See Holland v. Florida,
   560 U.S. 631, 649 (2010). Generally, a prisoner’s pro se status, ignorance of
   the law, unfamiliarity with the legal process, and temporary lack of access to
   legal materials do not warrant equitable tolling. See Felder v. Johnson, 204
   F.3d 168, 171-73 (5th Cir. 2000); Fisher, 174 F.3d at 715. Although Lewis was
   quarantined for approximately 18 days in the months before the limitations
   period expired, he submitted the motion for an extension of time during the
   quarantine period and never alleged that the quarantine prevented him from
   timely filing even a skeletal application in the month that remained after the
   quarantine ended. See Johnson v. Quarterman, 483 F.3d 278, 287-88 (5th Cir.
   2007); Phillips v. Donnelly, 216 F.3d 508, 511 (5th Cir.), modified on reh’g, 223
   F.3d 797 (5th Cir. 2000).
          Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. The
   motion for appointment of counsel is DENIED.

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