Scotty D. Brown v. Karen Arnold

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington dismissed Scotty D. Brown’s habeas corpus petition as time-barred under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d). The court held that Brown failed to demonstrate due diligence or extraordinary circumstances warranting equitable tolling and denied a certificate of appealability.

Holdings

1. The petition was untimely under the applicable AEDPA limitation period, and Petitioner failed to demonstrate facts showing that it was timely filed.
2. A petitioner's lack of legal sophistication, legal training, legal assistance, or knowledge of the law, without more, does not constitute an extraordinary circumstance warranting equitable tolling of the AEDPA limitation period.
3. No certificate of appealability should issue because an appeal could not be taken in good faith and there was no basis for issuing a certificate.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the federal habeas petition challenging Petitioner's 2011 conviction was timely under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d).
2. Whether Petitioner's asserted lack of legal knowledge, lack of legal assistance, and counsel's alleged failure to advise him about the appeal deadline constituted extraordinary circumstances warranting equitable tolling.
3. Whether a certificate of appealability should issue.

Disposition

dismissed