Giardala v. Bell

Background

Joseph Giardala, a state prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, submitted a letter seeking appointed counsel to help him challenge his conviction. He stated that he was innocent and that the case involved conduct from 1995, but he did not provide the facts supporting his innocence claim or identify a constitutional basis for challenging the conviction. The court also received a request to proceed without paying filing fees and for appointment of counsel.

The opinion states that publicly available records showed that a New York County jury convicted Giardala in 2016 of first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, and first-degree robbery based on newly identified DNA evidence. The New York Appellate Division affirmed the conviction, and the New York Court of Appeals denied leave to appeal on January 18, 2019. The opinion does not decide whether Giardala’s conviction was lawful or whether he is innocent.

Court’s analysis

The court explained that a letter was not enough to begin a federal challenge to a state-court conviction. Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, a petitioner must file a petition identifying the grounds for relief, the facts supporting each ground, and the requested relief. The court must read filings from people without lawyers generously, but such litigants still must follow relevant procedural and substantive rules.

The court concluded that Giardala’s letter did not allow the court or the respondent to understand the basis of his challenge. The court also warned that Giardala needed to include all grounds for relief in one petition or could need permission from the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to raise omitted grounds in a later petition. The court advised that the federal one-year filing period generally runs from when the state conviction becomes final, including the 90-day period for seeking review by the Supreme Court.

Ruling

Judge McMahon granted Giardala leave to submit a § 2254 petition within 60 days of the order and directed him to submit a new application to proceed without paying fees or pay the $5 filing fee. The Clerk was directed to mail him the order and note service on the docket. The court denied his request for appointment of counsel without prejudice to renewal after he files a § 2254 petition. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The court stated that the action would be dismissed if Giardala did not comply within the allowed time and could not show good cause.