IRMA CARRILLO RAMIREZ, Magistrate Judge.
Pursuant to Special Order 3-251, this habeas case has been referred for findings, conclusions, and recommendation. Based on the relevant findings and applicable law, the petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 should be
Luis Alberto Banda (Petitioner) challenges his conviction for murder. The respondent is Lorie Davis, Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), Correctional Institutions Division (Respondent).
On November 30, 2000, the State of Texas indicted Petitioner for murder in Cause No. F00-72692. (Doc. 6-2 at 5-6.)
Petitioner's state habeas application challenging his conviction was signed on October 1, 2015, and received by the state court on December 3, 2015. (Doc. 6-18 at 4, 26.) It was denied without written order on June 1, 2016. (Doc. 6-16); see Ex parte Banda, WR-58,890-02 (Tex. Crim. App. June 1, 2016).
Petitioner's federal petition raises the following grounds of ineffective assistance of trial counsel for failure to:
(See doc. 3 at 6-7, 14-15.) Respondent contends that the petition is barred by the statute of limitations. (See doc. 7.)
Congress enacted the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), Pub. L. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1217, on April 24, 1996. Title I of the Act applies to all federal petitions for habeas corpus filed on or after its effective date. Lindh v. Murphy, 521 U.S. 320, 326 (1997). Because Petitioner filed his petition after its effective date, the Act applies to it. Title I of the Act substantially changed the way federal courts handle habeas corpus actions. One of the major changes is a one-year statute of limitations. See 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1).
The one-year period is calculated from the latest of either:
See id. § 2244(d)(1)(A)-(D).
Here, the factual predicate for Petitioner's claims either became known or could have become known prior to the date his judgment became final.
Section 2244 mandates that "[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." 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2) (emphasis added). Here, Petitioner filed his state habeas applications on October 1, 2015, after the limitations period had already expired, so he is not entitled to statutory tolling. See Scott v. Johnson, 227 F.3d 260, 263 (5th Cir. 2000) (an application filed in state court after the limitations period has expired does not operate to statutorily toll the limitations period). Petitioner filed his § 2254 petition on August 1, 2016, the date that it was mailed.
AEDPA's one-year statutory deadline is not a jurisdictional bar and can, in appropriate exceptional circumstances, be equitably tolled. Holland v. Florida, 560 U.S. 631 (2010); Davis v. Johnson, 158 F.3d 806, 810-11 (5th Cir. 1998); cf. Felder v. Johnson, 204 F.3d 168, 170-71 (5th Cir. 2000) (only "rare and exceptional circumstances" warrant equitable tolling). "The doctrine of equitable tolling preserves a [party's] claims when strict application of the statute of limitations would be inequitable." Davis, 158 F.3d at 810 (quoting Lambert v. United States, 44 F.3d 296, 298 (5th Cir. 1995)). It "applies principally where [one party] is actively misled by the [other party] about the cause of action or is prevented in some extraordinary way from asserting his rights." Coleman v. Johnson, 184 F.3d 398, 402 (5th Cir. 1999) (quoting Rashidi v. American President Lines, 96 F.3d 124, 128 (5th Cir. 1996)). A habeas petitioner is entitled to equitable tolling only if he shows that: 1) he has been pursuing his rights diligently, and 2) some extraordinary circumstance prevented a timely filing. Holland, 560 U.S. at 649, citing Pace v. DiGuglielmo, 544 U.S. 408, 418 (2005). He bears the burden to show entitlement to equitable tolling. Phillips v. Donnelly, 223 F.3d 797, 797 (5th Cir. 2000) (per curiam). Courts must examine each case in order to determine if there are sufficient exceptional circumstances that warrant equitable tolling. Fisher v. Johnson, 174 F.3d 710, 713 (5th Cir. 1999). The Fifth Circuit has also stated that when a prisoner contends that his ability to file a federal habeas petition has been affected by a state proceeding, the court should look at the facts to determine whether equitable tolling is warranted. Coleman, 184 F.3d at 402.
Here, Petitioner presents no argument or evidence that he was prevented from filing his state writ or his federal petition earlier. He has failed to meet his burden to show that he is entitled to any equitable tolling of the federal statute of limitations.
Petitioner contends that he should be excused from the statute of limitations because he is raising claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, in light of Trevino v. Thaler, 133 S.Ct. 1911 (2013), and Martinez v. Ryan, 132 S.Ct. 1309 (2012).
In Trevino, the Supreme Court held that the Texas bar on successive or subsequent state habeas applications "will not bar a federal habeas court from hearing a substantial claim of ineffective assistance at trial if, in the initial-review collateral proceeding, there was no counsel or counsel in that proceeding was ineffective." Trevino, 133 S.Ct. at 1921 (citing Martinez v. Ryan, 132 S.Ct. at 1320). Martinez and Trevino addressed exceptions to the procedural default rule; they do not apply to the statute of limitations or equitable tolling. See Adams v. Stephens, No. 4:14-CV-395-O, 2015 WL 5459646 at *4 (N.D. Tex. Sept. 17, 2015); Reynolds v. Stephens, No. 3:13-CV-2728-P, 2014 WL 2575752 at *3 (N.D. Tex. June 9, 2014). Neither case provides a basis for tolling the statute of limitations, so Petitioner's claims are time-barred.
This petition for writ of habeas corpus should be
A copy of these findings, conclusions and recommendation shall be served on all parties in the manner provided by law. Any party who objects to any part of these findings, conclusions and recommendation must file specific written objections within 14 days after being served with a copy. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b). In order to be specific, an objection must identify the specific finding or recommendation to which objection is made, state the basis for the objection, and specify the place in the magistrate judge's findings, conclusions and recommendation where the disputed determination is found. An objection that merely incorporates by reference or refers to the briefing before the magistrate judge is not specific. Failure to file specific written objections will bar the aggrieved party from appealing the factual findings and legal conclusions of the magistrate judge that are accepted or adopted by the district court, except upon grounds of plain error. See Douglass v. United Servs. Automobile Ass'n, 79 F.3d 1415, 1417 (5th Cir. 1996).