United States District Court, N.D. Mississippi, Greenville Division
MEMORANDUM OPINION
MICHAEL P. MILLS UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
This
matter comes before the court on the pro se petition
of Jason King for a writ of habeas corpus under 28
U.S.C. § 2254. The State has moved to dismiss the
petition as untimely filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2).
Mr. King has not responded to the motion, and the deadline to
do so has expired. The matter is ripe for resolution. For the
reasons set forth below, the State's motion to dismiss
will be granted and the instant petition for a writ of
habeas corpus dismissed as untimely filed.
Facts
and Procedural Posture
Jason
King pled guilty to the crimes of capital rape (Count I);
fondling (Count II); sexual battery (Count III); and sexual
battery (Count IV) in Bolivar County Circuit Court Cause No.
7691. See Exhibit A. He also pled guilty to the
crimes of sexual battery (Count I); fondling (Count II);
sexual battery (Count III); fondling (Count IV); and sexual
battery (Count V) in Bolivar County Circuit Court Cause No.
7692. See Exhibit B.
On May
25, 1993, the circuit court sentenced King in Cause No. 7691
to life imprisonment for capital rape (Count I); ten years
for fondling (Count II); thirty years for sexual battery
(Count III); and thirty years for sexual battery (Count IV)
with Counts II through IV to run concurrently with the life
sentence imposed in Count I.[1] See Exhibit A. That same
day, the circuit court sentenced King in Cause No. 7692 to
thirty years for sexual battery (Count I); ten years for
fondling (Count II); thirty years for sexual battery (Count
III); ten years for fondling (Count IV); and thirty years for
sexual battery (Count V) - all to run concurrently with the
life sentence imposed in Count I in Cause No. 7691.
See Exhibit B. By statute, there is no direct appeal
from a guilty plea. See Miss. Code Ann. §
99-35-101. Accordingly, Mr. King's judgments of
conviction became final on Thursday, June 24, 1993, thirty
days after he was sentenced on his guilty
pleas.[2]
However,
Mr. King's convictions predate the April 24, 1996,
enactment of the AEDPA's one-year limitations period; as
such, that period did not immediately begin to run against
him. Instead, federal habeas corpus petitioners
whose convictions became final before April 24, 1996, are
entitled to a one- year grace period until - April 24, 1997,
to seek federal habeas corpus relief. See
Grillete v. Warden, Winn Correctional Center, 372 F.3d
765, 768 (5th Cir. 2004). Thus, all judgments of
conviction entered before April 24, 1996, are deemed final as
of April 24, 1996, for purposes of the AEDPA's period of
limitations. Therefore, Mr. King's federal petition
became due on or before April 24, 1997.
On
April 5, 1995, [3] Petitioner submitted a motion for
post-conviction relief (PCR) entitled “Motion to Vacate
Conviction and Sentence” in Bolivar County Circuit
Court Cause Nos. 7691 and 7692. See State Court
Record (SCR), Mississippi Supreme Court Cause No. 97-M-1072.
On November 18, 1997, the circuit court entered an order
denying King post-conviction relief. Id. The
electronic docket of the Mississippi Supreme Court, as shown
on that court's website, reflects that Mr. King did not
appeal the circuit court's decision.
Thus,
the federal habeas corpus limitations period was
tolled from April 24, 1996, the AEDPA's effective date,
through November 18, 1997, the date the circuit court ruled
on Mr. King's PCR motion. Petitions for a writ of
mandamus do not qualify to toll the limitations period under
28 U.S.C. § 2244(d). See Moore v. Cain, 298
F.3d 361, 366-67 (5th Cir. 2002.) Therefore, Mr.
King's federal habeas corpus petition became due
on or before Wednesday, November 18, 1998, (November 18,
1997, plus one year).
King
next submitted identical pleadings entitled “Motion for
a Post Conviction or in the alternative; Petition for a
Conditional Release, ” in Bolivar County Circuit Court
Cause Nos. 7691 and 7692, which were signed on May 5, 2011,
and stamp-filed on May 9, 2011.[4] See Exhibit D.
On July 27, 2011, the circuit court entered an order (which
ruled upon both the motions in their respective cases)
dismissing the motions as both procedurally barred and
without merit. Id. The circuit court also denied
King's request for conditional release. Id. The
dockets of both the Bolivar County Circuit Court
(see Exhibits A and B) and the Mississippi Supreme
Court, as shown on that court's website, reflect that Mr.
King did not appeal that decision. As these pleadings were
submitted well after the date that the federal habeas
corpus limitation period expired, Mr. King is not
entitled to additional statutory tolling under 28 U.S.C.
§ 2244(d) while those state post-conviction actions were
pending. Thus, the deadline for Mr. King to file the instant
petition for a writ of habeas corpus remained
Wednesday, November 18, 1998.
One-Year
Limitations Period
Decision
in this case is governed by 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d), which
provides:
(d)(1) A 1-year period of limitation shall apply to an
application for a writ of habeas corpus by a person in
custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court. The
limitation period shall run from the latest of -
(A) the date on which the judgment became final by the
conclusion of direct review or the expiration of the time for
seeking such review;
(B) the date on which the impediment to filing an application
created by State action in violation of the Constitution or
the laws of the United States is removed, if the applicant
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