STEVEN D. MERRYDAY, District Judge.
Marr applies under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for the writ of habeas corpus (Doc. 1) and challenges the validity of his state convictions for robbery, fleeing or eluding an officer, resisting an officer with violence, and possession of cocaine, for which convictions he is imprisoned for life as a habitual felony offender and prison releasee re-offender. Marr supports his application with exhibits ("Petitioner's Exhibit __") primarily from the post-conviction proceedings. (Doc. 1) Numerous exhibits ("Respondent's Exhibit __") support the response. (Doc. 10) The respondent correctly argues that the application is time-barred.
Under the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, "[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 . . . the date on which the judgment became final by the conclusion of direct review or the expiration of the time for seeking such review. . . ." 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(A). Additionally, under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2), "[t]he time during which a properly filed application for State post-conviction or other collateral review with respect to the pertinent judgment or claim is pending shall not be counted toward any period of limitation under this subsection."
Marr's conviction was final on August 4, 2009,
On April 4, 2011, Marr filed a motion under Rule 3.850 for post-conviction relief. The motion was stricken with leave to amend because the motion exceeded the fifty-page limit by twenty pages. Marr's amended motion, which was fifty-two pages, was stricken for the same reason because Marr supplemented the amended motion with an additional eighteen pages. Marr's second amended motion, which was also supplemented, totaled eighty-two pages. As a consequence, the motion was denied with prejudice for failing to comply with the rules governing the length of a motion under Rule 3.850.
Under Section 2244(d)(2) an applicant must "properly file" a state motion for post-conviction relief to qualify for tolling. Artuz v. Bennett, 531 U.S. 4, 8-9 (2000) (italics original) (citations omitted), explains the meaning of "properly filed:"
Because the state court rejected his motions for violating the court's rules, Marr's motions under Rule 3.850 for post-conviction relief were not "properly filed" and failed to toll the limitation. As a consequence, Marr's limitation deadline remained June 30, 2011. Marr applied under Section 2254 on January 16, 2015, more than three years late.
Alternatively, Marr's application is untimely even if afforded tolling for the Rule 3.850 motions. As determined above, Marr let 226 days elapse before he filed his initial Rule 3.800 motion to correct illegal sentence on March 18, 2010, and he had 139 days of the limitation remaining. Marr let an additional 52 days elapse after that proceeding concluded before he filed his initial "improperly filed" Rule 3.850 motion on April 4, 2011. This left Marr with 87 days of the limitation remaining (365 days - 226 - 52 = 87 days). On June 5, 2014, the mandate issued on the appeal from the denial of the Rule 3.850 motions, but while that appeal was pending Marr had filed a second motion under Rule 3.800 to correct an illegal sentence, which would toll the limitation and which concluded with the issuance of a mandate on October 17, 2014. (Petitioner's Exhibit E-5) The deadline for applying under Section 2254 was January 12, 2015 (October 17, 2011 + 87 days = January 12, 2015). Marr applied under Section 2254 on January 16, 2015, untimely even if afforded tolling for the "improperly filed" Rule 3.850 motions.
Accordingly, the application for the writ of habeas corpus (Doc. 1) is
Marr is not entitled to a certificate of appealability ("COA"). A prisoner seeking a writ of habeas corpus has no absolute entitlement to appeal a district court's denial of his application. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1). Rather, a district court must first issue a COA. Section 2253(c)(2) permits issuing a COA "only if the applicant has made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right." To merit a COA, Marr must show that reasonable jurists would find debatable both (1) the merits of the underlying claims and (2) the procedural issues he seeks to raise. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2); Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 478 (2000); Eagle v. Linahan, 279 F.3d 926, 935 (11th Cir 2001). Because the application is clearly time-barred, Marr cannot meet Slack's prejudice requirement. 529 U.S. at 484. Finally, because Marr is not entitled to a COA, he is not entitled to appeal in forma pauperis.
Accordingly, a certificate of appealability is DENIED. Leave to appeal in forma pauperis is DENIED. Marr must pay the full $505 appellate filing fee unless the circuit court allows Marr to appeal in forma pauperis.
ORDERED.