Court Opinion

ID: 9387795
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-04-19 00:00:24.422093+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:15.571181
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-30569        Document: 00516716179             Page: 1      Date Filed: 04/18/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________
                                                                               United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 22-30569
                                    Summary Calendar                                  FILED
                                    ____________                                  April 18, 2023
                                                                                 Lyle W. Cayce
   Harry Prater,                                                                      Clerk

                                                                   Petitioner—Appellant,

                                            versus

   Tim Hooper, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary,

                                               Respondent—Appellee.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                         for the Middle District of Louisiana
                               USDC No. 3:19-CV-576
                     ______________________________

   Before Stewart, Dennis, and Willett, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Harry Prater, Louisiana prisoner # 625261, appeals the denial of his 28
   U.S.C. § 2254 application challenging his convictions and sentences for two
   counts of second degree murder. He concedes that his application was not
   timely filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(A) but argues that the district

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-30569      Document: 00516716179            Page: 2    Date Filed: 04/18/2023

                                      No. 22-30569

   court erred by denying his request for equitable tolling. The district court
   granted a Certificate of Appealability.
          We review the denial of equitable tolling for an abuse of discretion.
   See Hardy v. Quarterman, 577 F.3d 596, 598 (5th Cir. 2009). “[A] petitioner
   is entitled to equitable tolling only if he shows (1) that he has been pursuing
   his rights diligently, and (2) that some extraordinary circumstance stood in
   his way and prevented timely filing.” Id. at 649 (internal quotation marks
   and citation omitted). “A petitioner’s failure to satisfy the statute of
   limitations must result from external factors beyond his control; delays of the
   petitioner’s own making do not qualify.” Hardy, 577 F.3d at 598 (internal
   quotation marks, brackets, and citation omitted).
          Although Prater filed his § 2254 application only 16 days after
   receiving his state habeas denial, his failure to file his state habeas application
   for almost a full year after his conviction became final for purposes of
   § 2244(d)(1)(A) strongly weighs against equitable tolling. See Jackson v.
   Davis, 933 F.3d 408, 411 (5th Cir. 2019). While a lengthy delay between the
   denial of state habeas relief and a prisoner’s receipt of that denial may
   constitute an extraordinary circumstance that warrants equitable tolling, see
   Jackson, 933 F.3d at 411, Prater has not shown that the two-day delay qualifies
   in this case.
          The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

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