State ex rel. Mays v. State

Summary

The Louisiana Supreme Court denied Terry Wayne Mays's application for post-conviction relief as untimely under Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure article 930.8. The court held that Mays failed to establish an exception to the limitations period and noted that he had fully litigated at least six state post-conviction applications. The attached district court ruling addressed Mays's claims of racial bias concerning jury selection, prosecutorial practices, and a courthouse Confederate flag monument.

Holdings

1. Mays's application was untimely because his conviction and sentence became final in 1993 and he filed the application in 2016, well beyond Louisiana's two-year limitations period.
2. Louisiana post-conviction procedure permits a second or successive application only under the narrow circumstances specified by article 930.4 and within the limitations period in article 930.8; after Mays's claims had been fully litigated, the denial was final and he had exhausted his right to state collateral review absent a qualifying exception.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Mays's 2016 application for post-conviction relief was timely under Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure article 930.8.
2. Whether Mays established an exception to the limitations period or the restrictions on successive post-conviction applications.

Disposition

writ_denied