Clarke v. United States
Clarke v. United States
Opinion of the Court
Petitioner Maurice Clarke ("Petitioner" or "Clarke"), proceeding pro se, seeks a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to
The petitioner's conviction and sentence were affirmed on appeal, and the Supreme Court subsequently denied Petitioner's Writ of Certiorari. United States v. Thompson,
On February 24, 2010, Clarke moved for an order pursuant to
For the reasons stated below, the Petitioner's objections to the Report are DENIED.
I. BACKGROUND
The Court assumes familiarity with the factual background and relevant procedural history as set forth thoroughly in the Report. (R & R at 2-4). Clarke's habeas petition articulates three claims: (1) he should not have been sentenced to a consecutive five-year sentence for his conviction for violating
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
In reviewing a Report and Recommendation, a district court "may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge."
However, when a petitioner objects by simply reiterating previous arguments or making only conclusory statements, the Court should review such objections for clear error. See *75Genao v. United States, No. 08 CIV. 9313,
III. DISCUSSION
Judge Pitman noted that petitioner had filed his habeas corpus petition over four months after the one-year limitations period had expired and further found that the petitioner failed to demonstrate that he had been pursuing his rights diligently. (R & R at 4-10). Additionally, the Report notes that petitioner failed to show the presence of "extraordinary circumstances" necessary to entitle petitioner to equitable tolling of the limitations period. (Id. )
Judge Pitman further noted that pursuant to
Even if petitioner had timely filed his objections, his claims fail nonetheless. Petitioner raises three objections to the Report: (1) the Report does not address petitioner's claim that the government's invocation of the statute of limitations under
In his objections, Clarke objected generally to the Report's conclusions and merely restated claims that were raised in his earlier petition. Accordingly, Petitioner's objections only merit review for clear error. Genao,
1. Constitutionality Claim
Clarke first objects to the R & R on the grounds that the Magistrate Judge failed to address petitioner's claim that the government's invocation of AEDPA's one-year statute of limitations is unconstitutional. (Objections at 3). In the R & R, Judge Pitman declined to address this argument, noting, "In light of my conclusion that the petition is time-barred, I need not address whether petitioner's claims are procedurally barred, or the merits of the claims." (R & R at 10). According to Clarke, "The failure of the Magistrate to address the merits of such a constitutional claim warrants the R & R to be rejected." (Objections at 3).
First, petitioner provides no legal precedent to support this conclusory contention. This Court is unaware of any case law supporting the notion that a Judge's failure to address an argument on the merits *76warrants rejection of that opinion in the context of a time-barred claim. On the contrary, it is well accepted that, "[where] a sufficient basis exists for dismissal of Plaintiffs' complaint on statute of limitations grounds, [the Court] need not address the merits of their claims." Young v. GM Inv. Mgmt. Corp.,
2. Equitable Tolling Claim
Clarke claims that the Magistrate Judge erred in finding that he is not entitled to equitable tolling of the limitations period. (Objections at 3). In his objections, petitioner rehashes many of the arguments made in his original equitable tolling application. (Compare Objections at 3-10 with Equitable Tolling Application, dated Feb. 24, 2010, dkt. no 1). As noted in the R & R, equitable tolling of the AEDPA's limitation period is only warranted in "rare and exceptional circumstances," and in order to be entitled to equitable tolling a petitioner must show (1) that he has pursued his rights diligently, and (2) that extraordinary circumstances prevented timely filing. (See R & R at 6 (citing Jenkins v. Greene,
In his objections, petitioner relies heavily on the facts in Valverde v. Stinson,
In Valverde, unlike here, the defendant claimed that a corrections officer intentionally and wrongfully confiscated his legal materials. (See Valverde,
In Clarke's case, however, his legal papers were confiscated during routine transfers between prison facilities. Petitioner recognizes in his objections that his papers were confiscated during these transfers, and he makes no argument that any confiscation was intentionally obstructive or wrongful. (See Objections at 5-6). This difference in circumstances is fatal to petitioner's claim that his circumstances are "extraordinary" so as to warrant equitable tolling. "[C]ourts have routinely held the difficulties in filing a habeas petition created by transfers between prison facilities are not extraordinary circumstances for purposes of equitable tolling." (See R & R at 7 (citing Hall v. Cunningham, 03 Civ. 3532 (RMB) (GWG),
Clarke asserts that "[t]he circumstances of Noble greatly mirror that of [petitioner]," though this is also unpersuasive. (Objections at 5). First, Noble is not binding on this court. Even assuming, for the sake *77of argument, that the decision were binding, the circumstances in Noble differ from Clarke's circumstances in two critical respects. First, the defendant in Noble had his documents confiscated "a mere nine days before the filing deadline." (See Noble,
Here, Clarke had his materials confiscated four months before the limitations period tolled. Indeed, the court in Noble noted that deprivation of legal material is generally not sufficient to warrant tolling and that "[t]his is particularly true when the deprivation occurs 'early in the limitations period when there is adequate time to correct the problem.' " (Id. at 11) (citing Robinson v. Johnson,
Furthermore, the defendant in Noble filed his petition "as quickly as possible" after his materials were returned. (Id. at 17). In fact, petitioner specifically mentions that the defendant in Noble filed his petition "[one] week after receiving his property." (See Objections at 5). In this case, however, Clarke did not file his petition until four months after he received his legal materials. (See R & R at 2-3). Petitioner argues in his objections that he "needed [the four month period] to not only draft the ineffective assistance of counsel claim but to also research and draft the attached equitable tolling claim." (See Objections at 9). Clarke further claims that any attempt to file a petition during the time he did not have his legal materials would have inevitably been rejected. (See Objections at 6-7). Petitioner's explanations are unavailing, as courts have regularly held that a failure to attempt to file a petition without legal materials demonstrates a lack of diligence. (See R & R at 9 (citing Brown v. Bullis, No. 9:11 Civ. 647 (MAD)(ATB),
3. Private Agreement Claim
Finally, petitioner asserts that the government and petitioner had come to an agreement that the one year statute of limitations would not be applied in this case. (Objections at 10). Petitioner raises this argument for the first time in his objections. Due to the fact that "new claims may not be raised properly at this late juncture," such claims should be dismissed. Pierce v. Mance, No. 08 Civ. 4736,
*78IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, Clarke's objections to the Report and Recommendation are denied.
SO ORDERED.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Maurice CLARKE v. United States
- Cited By
- 10 cases
- Status
- Published