Hc Valencia V Tuggle

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Automated Summary

Key Facts

Petitioner Haurilio Silva Valencia filed a habeas corpus petition constructively filed on October 31, 2024, challenging his 45 years to life sentence from a 2019 conviction in Colusa County Superior Court for making criminal threats, theft by larceny, and resisting arrest. The California Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction on February 15, 2022, and the petitioner filed state habeas petitions in 2023. The one-year AEDPA statute of limitations expired on January 8, 2024, but the petitioner filed the federal petition more than nine months later, making the action untimely. The Magistrate Judge recommends granting the respondent's motion to dismiss.

Issues

  • Whether petitioner is entitled to statutory tolling for pending state habeas petitions in calculating the limitations period
  • Whether petitioner's federal habeas corpus petition was filed within the one-year AEDPA statute of limitations period
  • Whether respondent's motion to dismiss the untimely habeas petition should be granted based on the expired statute of limitations

Holdings

The court finds that petitioner's federal habeas corpus petition was untimely because it was filed on October 31, 2024, nearly ten months after the one-year statute of limitations expired on January 8, 2024. The court recommends granting respondent's motion to dismiss and dismissing the action with prejudice.

Remedies

The Magistrate Judge recommends that respondent's motion to dismiss be granted and the action be dismissed with prejudice. The petition is untimely as it was filed over nine and a half months after the statute of limitations expired on January 8, 2024.

Legal Principles

  • The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) imposes a one-year statute of limitations on habeas corpus petitions by state prisoners. The limitation period runs from the latest of: (A) judgment finality after direct review, (B) removal of impediments created by state action, (C) recognition of a newly recognized constitutional right made retroactively applicable, or (D) when the factual predicate could have been discovered through due diligence. Time during which properly filed state post-conviction review is pending is not counted toward the limitations period.
  • Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases allows a district court to dismiss a petition if it plainly appears from the face of the petition and exhibits that the petitioner is not entitled to relief in the district court. The Court reviews respondent's motion to dismiss pursuant to this authority.
  • Petitioner bears the burden to demonstrate entitlement to equitable tolling. The petitioner failed to demonstrate they are entitled to equitable tolling. The statute of limitations expired on January 8, 2024, and the petitioner did not file until October 31, 2024, making the action untimely.

Precedent Name

  • Dyson v. Warden
  • O'Bremski v. Maass
  • Slack v. McDaniel
  • Espinoza-Matthews v. California
  • Artuz v. Bennett
  • Petrocelli v. Angelone
  • Brittingham v. United States
  • People v. Mitchell
  • Martinez v. Ylst
  • Patterson v. Stewart
  • Gonzalez v. Sherman
  • Pace v. DiGuglielmo

Cited Statute

  • 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) authorizes magistrate judges to submit findings and recommendations to the district judge
  • 28 U.S.C. § 2254 governs applications for writ of habeas corpus by persons in custody pursuant to state court judgment
  • AEDPA imposes one-year statute of limitations on habeas corpus petitions filed by state prisoners

Judge Name

Chi Soo Kim

Passage Text

  • The limitations period began to run again on November 16, 2023, and expired 51 days later, on Saturday, January 6, 2024. Because the deadline fell on a Saturday, petitioner had until Monday, January 8, 2024, to file his federal habeas petition.
  • Therefore, any appeal would be taken from the state appellate court's February 15, 2022 order, not the amended abstract of judgment, by filing a petition for review in the California Supreme Court. Here, petitioner did not file a petition for review in the California Supreme Court. Therefore, the judgment became final forty days later on March 27, 2022. The limitations period began the next day, March 28, 2022, and, absent tolling, expired on March 28, 2023.
  • The statute of limitations period expired on January 8, 2024. Petitioner did not file the instant action until October 31, 2024. Because petitioner filed this action over nine and a half months after the statute of limitations expired, this action is untimely, and respondent's motion to dismiss should be granted.