Timmie Durrell Cole, Applicant-Appellant v. State of Iowa, 16-0469

Timmie Cole, convicted in 1995 of two counts of delivery of cocaine, filed a postconviction relief (PCR) application in 2014 challenging those convictions.
The State moved for summary disposition, arguing the PCR application was barred by Iowa Code § 822.3’s three-year statute of limitations for filing postconviction claims.
Cole argued the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Padilla v. Kentucky announced a new rule of law that constitutes an exception to the three-year limitations period under § 822.3 (the exception for a ground of law that could not have been raised earlier).
The district court granted the State’s motion and dismissed Cole’s PCR application as untimely.
On appeal, the Iowa Court of Appeals reviewed whether Padilla’s new rule either (a) applies retroactively or (b) fits the statutory “ground of law” exception to the limitations period.
The court concluded Padilla does not apply retroactively to final convictions and, in any event, Cole filed more than three years after Padilla, so the statutory exception did not save his untimely claim.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Padilla’s new rule overcomes Iowa’s three-year PCR limitations period	Cole: Padilla announced a new rule that creates an exception to § 822.3 for grounds of law that could not have been raised earlier	State: Padilla does not apply retroactively to final convictions; even as a change in law, Cole filed more than three years after Padilla	Court: Padilla is not retroactive and Cole’s claim was filed after the three-year window, so untimely

Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010) (held counsel must advise noncitizen clients about deportation risk; announced a new rule on Strickland ineffective-assistance claims)
Chaidez v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 1103 (2013) (held Padilla’s rule is not retroactive to convictions already final)
Perez v. State, 816 N.W.2d 354 (Iowa 2012) (discusses distinction between retroactivity and statutory limitations exceptions)
Nguyen v. State, 829 N.W.2d 183 (Iowa 2013) (recognizes PCR claims based on changes in law must be filed within three years of the change)