Summary
This Memorandum Opinion and Order from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas denies a pro se petitioner's federal habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 as untimely under the one-year statute of limitations. The court finds that neither statutory nor equitable tolling applies to extend the filing deadline, and the petitioner fails to meet the demanding standard for the actual innocence gateway exception. Consequently, the court dismisses the petition with prejudice and declines to issue a certificate of appealability.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the petition is barred by the one‑year statute of limitations in 28 U.S.C. §2244(d).
- Whether statutory or equitable tolling under §2244(d)(1) or §2244(d)(2) applies.
- Whether the actual‑innocence exception to the limitations period applies.
- Whether a certificate of appealability should be issued.
Holdings
- The petition is untimely and barred because the one‑year limitations period expired on June 4, 2019, and the petition was filed on December 21, 2024.
- Statutory tolling under §2244(d)(1) does not apply; tolling under §2244(d)(2) applies only to the first state habeas application, extending the deadline to November 11, 2019, which the petition still missed.
- The actual‑innocence gateway is not satisfied because petitioner has not presented new reliable evidence that would preclude confidence in the trial outcome.
- No certificate of appealability will be issued because the petition is procedurally barred and there is no debatable constitutional claim.
Key quotations
“The Court concludes that jurists of reason would not debate whether Petitioner was entitled to federal habeas relief, and a COA will not issue.”
“Petitioner does not meet the demanding Schlup standard for the actual‑innocence exception; the evidence cited was known before his guilty plea and does not constitute new reliable evidence.”
Factual background
In May 2018 Bryan Lamar Gresham pleaded no contest to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Bexar County, Texas, and was sentenced to fourteen years. He waived his right to appeal. He later filed two state habeas applications (Nov. 16, 2018 and June 12, 2023), both denied by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. On Dec. 21, 2024 he filed a federal habeas petition alleging ineffective assistance, Brady violations, and actual innocence.
Procedural history
Petitioner pled no contest in 2018, filed state habeas applications in 2018 and 2023, both denied. He filed the federal habeas petition on December 21, 2024. The district court evaluated limitation periods, tolling arguments, and the actual‑innocence gateway.