Blandon-Villagra v. Alameda County Superior Court

Background

Jarol J. Blandon-Villagra sought federal relief from California state convictions. In 2018, he pleaded no contest in Alameda County Superior Court to two counts of second-degree robbery and admitted an allegation that he personally used a firearm. The state court imposed a nine-year prison sentence on January 2, 2019. Blandon-Villagra did not appeal and did not seek state post-conviction or other collateral relief.

Because he did not appeal, the district court determined that his convictions became final on March 4, 2019. Under the federal one-year deadline for these petitions, he had until March 5, 2020, to file. He filed the pending petition in 2022. After the court issued an order requiring a response explaining why the case should proceed, Jeff Macomber filed a motion to dismiss. Blandon-Villagra did not respond.

Court’s Analysis

The court applied the federal one-year limitations period for petitions challenging state convictions. It concluded that the petition was filed after the March 5, 2020 deadline.

The court found no statutory extension of the deadline because Blandon-Villagra had not filed any state petition for collateral relief. It also found that he had not shown entitlement to equitable tolling, which can extend a deadline when a petitioner acted diligently but an extraordinary circumstance prevented timely filing. Because Blandon-Villagra did not respond to the motion, he did not claim or support a showing of diligence and an extraordinary circumstance.

Disposition

The court granted the respondent’s motion to dismiss the petition as untimely and dismissed the petition. It stated that a certificate of appealability would not issue. The Clerk was directed to identify Jeff Macomber as the sole proper respondent, terminate Gregory J. Ahern as a respondent, terminate all pending motions, enter judgment for the respondent, and close the file.