Coffman v. Roby, 6:24-cv-00040

Petitioner Timothy S. Coffman was convicted in 2019 in Bell County, Kentucky of multiple offenses, including resisting arrest and sexual abuse.
After his conviction was affirmed on direct appeal and discretionary review was denied in the Kentucky Supreme Court, Coffman filed a state post-conviction motion (Rule 11.42) over a year after his conviction became final.
The denial of this post-conviction motion was also dismissed as untimely on appeal.
Coffman subsequently filed a federal habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in January 2024.
The respondent moved to dismiss the petition as untimely, and Magistrate Judge Stinnett recommended dismissal, finding the petition was filed beyond the one-year AEDPA statute of limitations, with insufficient basis for statutory or equitable tolling.
Coffman objected, arguing for equitable tolling due to COVID-related lockdowns and lack of access to legal materials.

Issue	Coffman's Argument	Robey's Argument	Held
Was the habeas petition timely under AEDPA?	Filed late due to extraordinary COVID delays	Petition filed well after AEDPA deadline	Untimely—petition filed long after 1-year limitations
Is statutory tolling under § 2244(d)(2) available?	Sought to toll time for state post-conviction motion	Motion filed after AEDPA deadline expired	No statutory tolling—motion filed after time expired
Is equitable tolling warranted for COVID lockdowns and access issues?	Lockdowns and pro se status prevented timely filing	General restrictions do not justify tolling	No equitable tolling—allegations insufficiently specific
Should a certificate of appealability issue?	Not specifically addressed by plaintiff	Dismissal was warranted	No certificate—claim not debatable among jurists

Pace v. DiGuglielmo, 544 U.S. 408 (equitable tolling requires both diligence and extraordinary circumstances)
Keeling v. Warden, Lebanon Corr. Inst., 673 F.3d 452 (petitioner bears burden to show entitlement to equitable tolling)