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WREN v. NDOH (2021)

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.2021-06-25No. No. 20-16571

Summary

Holding. The court affirmed the district court's dismissal of the habeas petition as untimely, finding Wren failed to qualify for either statutory or equitable tolling of the filing deadline.

Jeffrey Charles Wren, a California state prisoner, appealed the federal district court's dismissal of his federal habeas corpus petition. Wren challenged his sentence on Eighth Amendment grounds and argued the trial court improperly refused to strike a prior conviction. The district court rejected both claims as filed too late under federal habeas law.

On appeal, the court examined whether Wren was entitled to any delay in the filing deadline. The record showed Wren had not filed state habeas petitions that would have paused the federal clock, nor had he shown the diligence or extraordinary circumstances necessary for the court to overlook the deadline. The appeals court therefore agreed the district court properly dismissed the petition as untimely.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Whether habeas petition was timely filed under federal statute
  • Whether statutory tolling applied
  • Whether equitable tolling was warranted
  • Whether prior strike conviction should have been stricken

Procedural posture

Wren appealed pro se from the district court's dismissal of his federal habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

California state prisoner Jeffrey Charles Wren appeals pro se from the district courts judgment dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas corpus petition. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253. Reviewing de novo, see Smith v. Williams, 871 F.3d 684, 686 (9th Cir. 2017), we affirm.

Wrens habeas petition alleged, inter alia, that his sentence violates the Eighth Amendments prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment and that the sentencing court abused its discretion by denying Wrens motion to strike a prior strike conviction. The district court dismissed these claims as untimely, and granted a certificate of appealability as to whether he is entitled to statutory or equitable tolling. The record shows that Wren did not file any state habeas petitions that statutorily tolled the limitations period, see 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2), and he has not demonstrated due diligence or extraordinary circumstances warranting equitable tolling, see Holland v. Florida, 560 U.S. 631, 649, 130 S.Ct. 2549, 177 L.Ed.2d 130 (2010). The district courts timeliness determination was, therefore, correct.

We treat appellants additional arguments as a motion to expand the certificate of appealability. So treated, the motion is denied. See 9th Cir. R. 22-1(e); Hiivala v. Wood, 195 F.3d 1098, 1104-05 (9th Cir. 1999).

Appellants requests for a ruling are denied as moot. All other pending motions and requests are denied.

AFFIRMED.