Gonzalez v. Five Points Correctional Facility
- Nelson Roman
- 7:19-cv-01084
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Gonzalez v. Five Points Correctional Facility, Judge Roman denied Gonzalez’s habeas petition as untimely after finding no clear error.
Justin Gonzalez’s federal challenge to his state convictions was denied. The case was terminated, no certificate of appealability issued, and permission to appeal without paying filing fees was denied.
What happened
In Gonzalez v. Five Points Correctional Facility, Justin Gonzalez challenged his state convictions through a federal petition asking for release from those convictions. He represented himself, and the respondent argued that the petition was filed too late.
A magistrate judge recommended denying the petition because Gonzalez missed the one-year filing deadline and had not shown a reason to pause or extend that deadline. Gonzalez did not object to the recommendation.
Judge Nelson S. Roman reviewed the recommendation for clear error, found none, adopted it in full, and denied the petition. The court entered judgment, ended the case, declined to issue a certificate of appealability, and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees.
The detailed version
- Gonzalez v. Five Points Correctional Facility · No. 7:19-cv-01084
- Nelson Roman
- Mar. 15, 2021
Background
Justin Gonzalez, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging his 2014 state-court convictions for assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree, resisting arrest, and criminal mischief in the fourth degree. The opinion states that Gonzalez pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court, Sullivan County, and that the state appellate court affirmed his judgment of conviction in April 2016. In July 2018, he sought to overturn his convictions in state court under New York Criminal Procedure Law § 440.10; that motion was denied, and leave to appeal was denied in October 2018.
The respondent moved to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), arguing that the petition was barred by the filing deadline. Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause issued a Report and Recommendation on February 19, 2021, recommending that the petition be denied. Gonzalez filed no objections.
Court’s Review and Ruling
Because there were no objections, Judge Nelson S. Roman reviewed the Report and Recommendation for clear error and found none. The court adopted it in its entirety. The recommendation concluded that Gonzalez filed the petition late, that there was no basis for extending or pausing the deadline, and that Gonzalez had not claimed actual innocence despite pleading guilty. The district court also stated that Gonzalez’s claim that he was denied effective assistance of counsel lacked merit.
The court denied the habeas petition, directed the clerk to enter judgment and terminate the case, and ordered that a copy of the order be sent to Gonzalez. The court also ruled that no certificate of appealability would issue because Gonzalez had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied. It further denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.