Barbera v. State
Barbera v. State
Opinion of the Court
Petitioner appeals a judgment dismissing his petition for post-conviction relief on the ground that it was not timely filed within two years of the date that his conviction became final, as required by ORS 138.510(3).
In support of his claim that he alleged sufficient facts to invoke the escape clause, petitioner points to his allegations that (1) his criminal trial lawyer misled him into thinking that he could not file for post-conviction relief at all; and (2) by the time petitioner determined that he could seek post-conviction relief, the two-year period had almost expired and petitioner was incarcerated in Pennsylvania without access to a notary. He argues that those allegations compel the conclusion that he could not reasonably have raised his grounds for relief in a timely-filed petition because, in his view, they compel the conclusion that petitioner was “physically prevented from complying with the statutory time limit due to his incarceration and lack of access to a notary” at the time the petition was due.
To the extent that petitioner argues that the alleged inaccurate advice from his criminal trial lawyer is sufficient to entitle him to invoke the escape clause, that argument is foreclosed by Brown v. Baldwin, 131 Or App 356, 361, 885 P2d 707 (1994), rev den, 320 Or 507 (1995). There, we held
Further, we disagree that the allegations on which petitioner relies demonstrate that petitioner was “physically prevented” from timely filing the petition.
Affirmed.
Petitioner did not appeal the judgment of conviction. As a result, he was required to file for post-conviction relief within two years of “the date the judgment or order on the conviction was entered in the register” of the trial court. ORS 138.510(3)(a). Had petitioner appealed, the two-year period for seeking post-conviction relief would not have started to run until the completion of the appellate process. ORS 138.510(3)(b), (c).
Defendant also argues that the escape clause, as it has been interpreted by this court and the Supreme Court, would not excuse petitioner’s untimeliness even if petitioner’s allegations were sufficient to establish that he was physically prevented from timely filing the petition. Because we conclude that petitioner’s allegations do not establish that he was physically prevented from timely filing the petition, we do not address that argument.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.