WILLIAM M. SKRETNY, Chief District Judge.
1. On May 1, 2009, Petitioner Monae Davis executed a plea agreement in which he agreed to plead guilty to Count 1 of an indictment charging a violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Docket No. 306. The agreement contemplated a sentencing range of 262 to 327 months. On August 26, 2009, this Court accepted Davis's plea and sentenced him to 240 months' imprisonment—nearly two years less than the range minimum.
2. Presently before the Court is Davis's pro se petition for habeas relief, which he filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 on January 4, 2013. Davis seeks to vacate his sentence on the grounds that: (1) counsel was ineffective during plea negotiations and the plea hearing; (2) the court failed to ensure the voluntariness of his plea; (3) the government and the court constructively amended the indictment; and (4) counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to object to that constructive amendment. After these issues were fully briefed, Davis moved, on May 29, 2014, for leave to supplement his petition. He wishes to add a challenge to the enhanced penalties in his plea agreement, arguing that such enhancements are contrary to a government policy adopted four years after his plea. Because the United States seeks dismissal on of the initial petition on timeliness grounds, this Court will determine whether the petition may go forward before addressing the motion to supplement.
3. Among its arguments for dismissal, the United States maintains that Davis's January 4, 2013 petition is untimely because "the [Second Circuit's] Mandate . . . [was] issued on August 2, 2011, making the defendant's conviction final for AEDPA's one year statute of limitations." Docket No. 669 ¶ 7. Davis contends the AEDPA limitations period did not begin to run until January 25, 2012. Docket No. 665, ¶ 18. The Court concludes that both assertions as to finality are incorrect.
4. Section 2255(f) of Title 28 of the United States Code provides, in pertinent part, that:
5. It is well established that for purposes of § 2255(f)(1), "a judgment of conviction becomes final when the time expires for filing a petition for certiorari contesting the appellate court's affirmation of the conviction . . . [i.e.] 90 days after entry of the Court of Appeals' judgment."
6. As discussed more fully below, Davis did not timely petition for a writ of certiorari, and so the Second Circuit's judgment became final on Tuesday, October 4, 2011. Adding one year to this date places Davis's January 4, 2014 motion well outside the limitations period. Davis contends that his deadline for filing the instant petition must be calculated to account for a government impediment, 28 U.S.C. § 2255(f)(2), and equitable tolling.
7. Davis's claim of government impediment is based on the following circumstances. On July 6, 2011, the Second Circuit both affirmed his conviction and granted his assigned attorney's motion to be relieved as counsel pursuant to
8. The Court need not resolve whether these facts could constitute a "government impediment" because, even assuming Davis sufficiently established that the Circuit Court impeded his ability to timely file his motion to extend time, the impediment was removed on August 18, 2011, when the Clerk of Court accepted the motion filed by Davis's former attorney seeking the same relief. The addition of these 32 days to the October 4, 2011 commencement of AEDPA's 1-year limitations period would not render the instant petition—filed January 4, 2013 — timely.
9. Next, Davis contends that equitable tolling also applies because of his mistaken belief that October 25, 2011 — the date the Second Circuit denied him leave to file his petition for a rehearing out of time—was the date on which his time commenced to petition for certiorari. He maintains that the time period from July 17, 2011 to February 1, 2012 should be tolled because "[i]t was only after his pro se application to extend time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari was denied on February 1, 2012, that [he] realized the only remedy remaining was . . . review pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255."
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11. Because the issues raised here are not the type of issues that a court could resolve in a different manner, and because these issues are not debatable among jurists of reason, the Court concludes that petitioner has failed to make a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right, 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2), and denies a certificate of appealability. The Court also hereby certifies, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), that any appeal from this judgment would not be taken in good faith and therefore denies leave to appeal as a poor person.
IT HEREBY IS ORDERED, that Petitioner Monae Davis's Motion to Vacate Sentence (Docket No. 665) is DENIED.
FURTHER, that Petitioner's Motion for Leave to Supplement the Petition (Docket No. 737) is DENIED as moot.
FURTHER, that a certificate of appealability is DENIED.
FURTHER, that leave to appeal as a poor person is DENIED.
FURTHER, that the Clerk of this Court is directed to take the necessary steps to close this case.
SO ORDERED.