Blanks v. 20th Judicial Circuit Court, Lee County, FL
2:17-cv-00247
M.D. Fla.Jun 6, 2017Background
- Petitioner Mitchell M. Blanks was convicted in Florida state court in 1992 of multiple burglary- and robbery-related offenses and sentenced to life imprisonment.
- Petitioner pursued state post-conviction relief intermittently: a 1995 Rule 3.850 motion (denied, remanded, denied again, no appeal), Rule 3.800(a) motions in 2007 and 2009 (denied and affirmed on appeal), and additional Rule 3.850 filings in 2012 (denied as successive).
- Petitioner signed his federal habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 on May 3, 2017 and filed an amended petition on May 19, 2017 challenging his convictions/sentences.
- The district court reviewed the petition under Rule 4 and concluded it was untimely under AEDPA’s one-year limitation measured from the date his conviction became final (triggered by § 2244(d)(1)(A)) because his conviction became final before AEDPA and he did not timely toll the limitations period.
- Petitioner was given an opportunity to show cause why the petition should not be dismissed for untimeliness and instructed how to avoid dismissal (rebut the timeliness finding, show a delayed trigger, equitable tolling, or actual innocence), but he failed to do so.
- The court dismissed the amended § 2254 petition with prejudice as time-barred, denied a certificate of appealability, and closed the case.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Blanks’s § 2254 petition is timely under AEDPA | Blanks asserted exhaustion of claims but did not contest timeliness | Respondents argued AEDPA’s one-year period expired April 24, 1997 and Blanks’s later state filings do not revive it | Petition is time-barred and dismissed with prejudice |
| Whether state post-conviction filings tolled AEDPA limitations | Implied that state filings justify review (exhaustion) | Court: state filings began in 2007, long after AEDPA deadline, so no tolling applies | No tolling; filings untimely to revive federal limitations |
| Whether Blanks is entitled to equitable tolling or other delayed start | Blanks did not present facts to support equitable tolling or alternate trigger | Respondents relied on record absence of equitable tolling grounds or delayed trigger | Court found no basis shown for equitable tolling or delayed start |
| Whether Blanks made a sufficient showing of actual innocence to excuse the time bar | Blanks did not present a McQuiggin actual-innocence showing | Respondents maintained no credible actual-innocence evidence in record | Court held actual-innocence exception not met |
Key Cases Cited
- Day v. McDonough, 547 U.S. 198 (establishes procedures for addressing untimely habeas petitions)
- Wilcox v. Florida Dep’t of Corr., 158 F.3d 1209 (11th Cir. 1998) (application of AEDPA to convictions final before enactment)
- Tinker v. Moore, 255 F.3d 1331 (11th Cir. 2001) (state post-conviction filings only toll remaining AEDPA time)
- McQuiggin v. Perkins, 133 S. Ct. 1924 (actual-innocence gateway to review of time-barred claims)
- Tennard v. Dretke, 542 U.S. 274 (standard for substantial showing of denial of constitutional right)
- Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473 (certificate of appealability standard)
- Miller–El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322 (standard for COA: issues adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed)