MARGO K. BRODIE, District Judge:
Petitioner Sean Davis, also known as Dwan Rideout, brings the above-captioned petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, in which he alleges that he is being held in state custody in violation of his federal constitutional rights. Petitioner's claims arise from a judgment of conviction entered on February 27, 1996, pursuant to a guilty plea in New York State Supreme Court, Kings County, on charges of attempted murder in the second degree and robbery in the first degree. Petitioner entered a plea of guilty to both charges and was sentenced to eight and one-half to sixteen years' imprisonment on each conviction, to run concurrently. Petitioner did not appeal his conviction. On April 29, 2010, Petitioner moved to vacate his judgments of conviction on the grounds that his guilty pleas were not entered knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily because the court did not inform him that his sentence entered pursuant to the 1996 guilty plea would run consecutively to an undischarged term of imprisonment resulting from a prior conviction. On August 17, 2010, the court denied Petitioner's motion to vacate. (People v. Rideout, Nos. 6882/95 and 7219/95 (N.Y.Sup.Ct. Aug. 17, 2010), annexed to Pet. as Ex. D.) On December 21, 2010, the Appellate Division denied Petitioner leave to appeal. People v. Rideout, No. 2010-10839, 2010 WL 5173631 (N.Y.App.Div. Dec. 21, 2010). In the instant petition, Petitioner asserts that his federal constitutional right to due process was violated when the state trial court did not inform him, at the time of his guilty plea, that his bargained-for sentences were required, under New York State law, to run consecutively to his undischarged
On May 27, 1992, Petitioner pled guilty to robbery in the first degree, a violation of New York Penal Law ("NYPL") section 160.15, in Kings County Supreme Court ("1992 conviction"). (Pet. ¶ 6.) On June 15, 1992, Petitioner was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of two to six years, and served his term until he was released from custody on parole on October 6, 1994. (Id. ¶ 7.) While he was on parole, on or about May 24, 1995, Petitioner was at the corner of Albany Avenue and Bergen Street in Brooklyn, New York, and fired a handgun at another individual with the intent to kill him. (Tr. of Plea on Indict. Nos. 6882/95 and 7219/95, dated Jan. 29, 1996 ("Plea Tr.") 6:6-15, 8:8-14, annexed to Pet. as Ex. A at ECF No. 20.) On or about June 1, 1995, Petitioner stole a television and a videocassette recorder at gunpoint. (Plea Tr. 5:22-6:5.) On January 29, 1996, Petitioner entered a plea of guilty to robbery in the first degree, in violation of NYPL section 160.15(4), and attempted murder in the second degree, in violation of NYPL section 110 and 125.25, for the two crimes, respectively ("1996 conviction"). (Plea Tr. 10:6-18; Pet. ¶ 8.) Due to the 1992 conviction, Petitioner was adjudicated as a predicate felon. (Plea Tr. 9:1-10:3.)
On February 27, 1996, Justice Neil J. Firetog of the Supreme Court, Kings County, sentenced Petitioner to concurrent terms of imprisonment of eight and one half to sixteen years, on each of the charges to which Petitioner pled guilty in the 1996 conviction ("1996 sentences"). (Tr. of Sentencing on Indict. Nos. 6882/95 and 7219/95 dated Feb. 27, 1996 ("Sen.Tr.") 3:11-13, annexed to Pet. as Ex. A at ECF No. 31; Pet. ¶ 12.) On March 12, 1996, Petitioner's grant of parole on his earlier term of imprisonment, imposed following the 1992 conviction, was revoked. (Pet. ¶ 13.) As mandated by NYPL section 70.25(2-a), Petitioner was required to serve the remaining two and one half years of his sentence for the 1992 conviction consecutively to his concurrent sentences for the 1996 conviction. (Id.)
Defendant did not appeal from his 1996 conviction. On April 29, 2010, Petitioner moved, pro se, pursuant to New York Criminal Procedure Law ("CPL") section 440.10(1)(h) to vacate the 1996 conviction. ("440 Motion") (Id. ¶ 14.) Petitioner maintains that at no time during the plea colloquy did the court, prosecutor, or defense counsel ever advise Petitioner that the 1996 sentences would run consecutive to the Petitioner's un-discharged prior sentence for the 1992 conviction, as required by NYPL section 70.25(2-a).
Petitioner sought leave to appeal from the Appellate Division, Second Department, which denied his application without opinion on December 21, 2010. (Pet. ¶ 19; see also People v. Rideout, No. 2010-10839, at 1, 2010 WL 5173631 (N.Y.App. Div. Dec. 21, 2010), annexed to Pet. as Ex. E.) Petitioner filed the instant petition on November 15, 2011.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, as amended by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 ("AEDPA"), an application for a writ of habeas corpus by a person in custody pursuant to a state court judgment may only be brought on the grounds that his or her custody is "in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States." 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a). A petitioner is required to show that the state court decision, having been adjudicated on the merits, is either "contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law" or "based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding." 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d); Lafler v. Cooper, 566 U.S. ___, ___, 132 S.Ct. 1376, 1390, 182 L.Ed.2d 398 (2012).
For the purposes of federal habeas review, "clearly established law" is defined as "the holdings, as opposed to dicta, of [the Supreme] Court's decisions as of the time of the relevant state-court decision." Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 412, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000). A state court decision is "contrary to," or an "unreasonable application of," clearly established law if the decision (1) is contrary to Supreme Court precedent on a question of law; (2) arrives at a conclusion different than that reached by the Supreme Court on "materially indistinguishable" facts; or (3) identifies the correct governing legal rule, but unreasonably applies it to the facts of the petitioner's case. Id. at 412-13, 120 S.Ct. 1495; see also Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. 86, 99-100, 131 S.Ct. 770, 178 L.Ed.2d 624 (2011) (outlining the relevant factors). In order to establish that a state court decision is an unreasonable application, the state court decision must be "more than incorrect or erroneous." Lockyer v. Andrade, 538 U.S. 63, 75, 123 S.Ct. 1166, 155 L.Ed.2d 144 (2003); see also Portalatin v. Graham, 624 F.3d 69, 79 (2d Cir.2010) ("If none of these conditions is met, even if the federal court would have reached a different conclusion on direct review, the petition must be denied."). The decision must be "objectively unreasonable." Andrade, 538 U.S. at 75, 123 S.Ct. 1166. In addition, factual determinations made by the state court are presumed to be correct, and the petitioner bears the burden of rebutting the presumption of correctness
Before proceeding to the merits of the instant petition, the Court must consider whether the petition was timely-filed. The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 ("AEDPA" or "Act") signed into law on April 24, 1996, provides for a one-year statute of limitations for the filing of a writ of habeas corpus by a person in custody pursuant to a judgment of a State court. 28 U.S.C § 2244(d)(1). The one-year period runs from the date on which one of the following four events occurs, whichever is latest:
28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(A)-(D); see Lindh v. Murphy, 521 U.S. 320, 327, 117 S.Ct. 2059, 138 L.Ed.2d 481 (1997) (interpreting § 2244 to apply "to the general run of habeas cases ... when those cases had been filed after the date of the Act.").
Under New York CPL section 460.10, a party seeking to appeal from a criminal judgement or sentence must file a written notice of appeal within thirty days of the
Prisoners who were convicted prior to the enactment of AEDPA were allowed one year from the effective date of the statute to file a habeas petition. Wood v. Milyard, 566 U.S. ___, ___, 132 S.Ct. 1826, 1831, 182 L.Ed.2d 733 (2012) ("For a prisoner whose judgment became final before AEDPA was enacted, the one-year limitations period runs from the AEDPA's effective date: April 24, 1996."). Because Petitioner's judgment would have become final on March 28, 1996, the grace period given through the enactment of the AEDPA provided him one year from the date of its enactment to file his petition, which year would have expired on April 24, 1997. The instant petition, dated November 11, 2011, was filed more than fourteen years after the grace period had already expired. Rios v. Mazzuca, 78 Fed.Appx. 742, 743 (2d Cir.2003) ("Because [Petitioner] was convicted prior to the AEDPA's enactment, he was required to file his habeas petition within one year of the AEDPA's effective date, or by April 24, 1997." (citing Ross, 150 F.3d at 102-03)). Unless Petitioner can show that the one-year grace period was tolled, the petition is untimely and therefore barred by 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d). The Court therefore considers whether Petitioner is entitled to statutory or equitable tolling of the time requirements.
"The 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" is not counted toward the limitations period. 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2); Saunders v. Senkowski, 587 F.3d 543, 548 (2d Cir. 2009) ("It is clear from the statutory language that the possibility of filing an application for post-conviction relief is not enough to toll the limitations period; instead, an application must be `properly filed' and `pending.'" (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2))). The post-conviction proceeding, however, does not start the one-year grace period to run anew. Section 2244(d)(2) merely excludes the time a post-conviction motion is under submission from the calculation of the one-year period of limitation. Saunders, 587 F.3d at 548 (noting that a section 440.10 motion is "pending" beginning on the day it is filed
Because Petitioner filed his 440 Motion on April 29, 2010, well after the one year grace period had expired on April 24, 1997, he cannot avail himself of statutory tolling. See Plato, 638 F.Supp.2d at 345 ("neither of [petitioner]'s CPL [section] 440.10 motions had any effect on the commencement of the limitations period because they were filed well after the limitations period had actually expired.") (citation omitted); see also Borges v. Bradt, No. 14-CV-0060, 2015 WL 105966, at *4 (N.D.N.Y. Jan. 7, 2015) (adopting report and recommendation which held that petitioner was not entitled to a period of statutory tolling because he did not file any state court challenges to his conviction within the one year statute of limitations (citing Bennett v. Artuz, 199 F.3d 116, 120 (2d Cir.1999))); Sorce, 73 F.Supp.2d at 297. Therefore, even if Petitioner's 440 Motion which was filed on April 29, 2010, would have afforded him statutory tolling, the 440 Motion was filed approximately thirteen years after the one-year limitations period expired, and does not render this petition timely filed on November 11, 2011.
Petitioner argues that he is entitled to equitable tolling. (Pet'r Reply Mem. ¶ 3.) Petitioner argues that because the one-year limitations period is not a jurisdictional bar, a court may choose to grant equitable tolling. Id. Courts will equitably toll the statute of limitations for a period of time if the petitioner shows, for the relevant period, "(1) that he has been pursuing his rights diligently, and (2) that some extraordinary circumstance stood in his way and prevented timely filing." Holland v. Florida, 560 U.S. 631, 649, 130 S.Ct. 2549, 177 L.Ed.2d 130 (2010) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). To show that he has been pursuing his rights, a petitioner must demonstrate that he acted with "reasonable diligence throughout the period he seeks to toll." Smith, 208 F.3d at 17 (citing Johnson v. Nyack Hosp., 86 F.3d 8, 12 (2d Cir.1996)); see Harper v. Ercole, 648 F.3d 132, 134 (2d Cir.2011) (A petitioner is "required to show reasonable diligence in pursuing his claim throughout the period he seeks to have tolled."). Additionally, application of equitable tolling is only warranted in rare and exceptional cases, where "extraordinary circumstances," meaning severe obstacles to petitioner's ability to comply with AEDPA's limitation period, prevent the petitioner from filing on time. Bolarinwa v. Williams, 593 F.3d 226, 231 (2d Cir.2010) (noting that mental incapacity may constitute extraordinary circumstances, depending on the facts presented); see, e.g., Nickels v. Conway, 480 Fed.Appx. 54, 56 (2d Cir.2012) (attorney's failure to file petitioner's habeas petition, despite specific instruction to do so, constituted an "extraordinary circumstance" to warrant equitable tolling of the AEDPA's one-year limitations period); Harper, 648 F.3d at 137 (petitioner's hospitalization caused his failure to miss the one-year filing deadline under the AEDPA, thereby qualifying him
Here, Petitioner has not shown any extraordinary or severe obstacle that prevented him from timely filing this petition. Petitioner's reply merely makes a cursory statement that the Court should exercise its equitable powers, but does not give any reasons which would allow the Court to do so.
For the foregoing reasons, the petition for habeas corpus is denied as time-barred pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1) and the Court will not issue a certificate of appealability. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). The Clerk of the Court is directed to close this case.
SO ORDERED.