Stroman v. Thaler, No. 07-20198

Stroman v. Thaler, No. 07-20198, involved a cocaine possession prosecution.  The Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of petitioner's habeas petition, holding that petitioner's petition was untimely, and he failed to show the due diligence required for equitable tolling.

As the court wrote:  "The district court granted the respondent's motion for summary judgment, holding that the petition was barred by the one year statute of limitations and that Stroman was not entitled to equitable tolling. The court noted that Stroman had waited nearly seven months after his state conviction had become final on direct appeal before filing his state habeas, and he knew that he would only have some five months after any denial thereof within which to file for federal habeas relief. Yet, after being informed in response to his first inquiry, some ten months after its filing, that the state petition was still pending, he waited an additional eighteen months before making his second inquiry. After hearing that the writ had been denied in October 2004, he waited another seven weeks before filing his federal habeas petition. The federal district court concluded that Stroman had not shown the due diligence required for equitable tolling. We affirm."

Related Resources

• Full Text of Stroman v. Thaler, No. 07-20198