Federal Judiciary

Petition of the day

By Conor McEvily

Today?s petition of the day is:

Title: Gonzalez v. Thaler
Docket: 10-895
Issue(s): 1) Whether the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) - which establishes a one-year statute of limitations for a state prisoner to file a federal habeas petition, running from "the date on which the judgment [of conviction] became final by the conclusion of direct review or the expiration of the time for seeking such review" - dictates a single federally prescribed point in time when all state direct-review processes are deemed to have concluded; 2) whether AEDPA's "conclusion of direct review" occurs upon issuance of an intermediate appellate court's mandate, expiration of the time for seeking discretionary review in the state's highest court, or issuance of the intermediate appellate court's decision; and 3) whether ?expiration of the time for seeking [direct] review? under AEDPA includes the ninety-day period for filing a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court even when the petitioner forewent discretionary review in the state's highest court.

Certiorari stage documents:

• Opinion below (5th Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari

Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on March 31, 2011 (boomark / email).