Griffin v. Titus
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-05687
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Griffin v. Titus, Judge Swain denied Griffin’s petition challenging his imprisonment as time-barred after he failed to respond to the court.
Rudolph W. Griffin’s federal custody challenge was denied, and his action was dismissed; the court also denied a certificate of appealability and permission to appeal without paying filing fees.
What happened
Rudolph W. Griffin filed a petition challenging his imprisonment against A. Titus, identified as the superintendent of Orleans Correctional Facility. The court treated the petition as one brought under a federal law allowing challenges to state-court custody and warned Griffin that it appeared to be filed too late.
The court gave Griffin 60 days to submit a declaration explaining why the petition should not be denied as too late. Griffin did not submit the required declaration. The court therefore denied the petition as time-barred and directed the clerk to enter judgment dismissing the action.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied a certificate needed to appeal the habeas ruling and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Griffin v. Titus · No. 1:24-cv-05687
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 18, 2025
Background Rudolph W. Griffin filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, a court proceeding used to challenge unlawful custody. The court construed the petition as arising under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 and concluded that it appeared to be barred by the filing deadline.
By an order dated January 2, 2025, the court gave Griffin 60 days to show by declaration why the petition should not be denied as time-barred. The court warned that failing to comply would result in denial of the petition as time-barred. Griffin did not file a declaration in response.
Ruling The court denied the petition as time-barred. It directed the clerk to enter a judgment dismissing the action for that reason.
The court also ruled that Griffin had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied, so it would not issue a certificate of appealability, which is required for an appeal from this type of ruling. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), the court further found that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.