Shoy v. Harris
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:22-cv-00084
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 6
In Lorenzo Shoy v. Anthony Annucci, Judge Swain ordered Shoy to explain why his habeas petition should not be dismissed as late, without deciding the petition.
Lorenzo Shoy must file a declaration within 60 days explaining why his § 2254 petition should not be denied as time-barred. Anthony Annucci was not required to answer at this stage.
What happened
In Lorenzo Shoy v. Anthony Annucci, Lorenzo Shoy challenged his 2017 New York conviction in a petition asking a federal court to review his case. The court had already allowed him to proceed without paying the filing fee.
The court said the petition appeared to be filed about six months after the one-year deadline. It ordered Shoy to provide information about his state-court challenges and explain any reasons that might justify extending the deadline. The court did not require the respondent to answer yet.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Shoy to file the declaration within 60 days. She did not decide whether the petition ultimately must be denied, but stated that it would be denied as late if Shoy failed to comply or could not show that the petition was timely. The court also declined to issue a certificate allowing an appeal and denied fee-free status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Shoy v. Harris · No. 1:22-cv-00084
- Vernon Broderick
- Jan. 31, 2022
Background
Lorenzo Shoy, who was incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging his 2017 conviction in New York Supreme Court, Bronx County. He filed an amended petition on January 20, 2022, along with a request to proceed without paying the filing fee. The court had granted that request.
Why the Petition Appeared Untimely
Federal law generally gives a person one year to file a petition under § 2254, measured from the latest of several specified events. The court stated that Shoy’s conviction became final on July 15, 2020, after the time to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the state-court judgment expired. On that calculation, the one-year filing period ended on July 15, 2021.
Shoy’s original application was dated December 2021. Assuming he placed it in the prison mail collection box on the date he signed it, the court treated it as filed in December 2021—approximately six months after the deadline. The court also stated that Shoy had not alleged that he filed any state postconviction motions before July 15, 2021. As a result, the court found no basis at that time for pausing the one-year period based on those state proceedings.
Order to Show Cause
The court directed Shoy to file a declaration within 60 days explaining why the amended petition should not be dismissed as time-barred. The declaration must identify the dates of any state postconviction applications, motions, appeals, and related decisions, as well as when Shoy received notice of those decisions. Shoy may also provide facts showing that he pursued his rights diligently and that an extraordinary circumstance prevented timely filing. This concerns equitable tolling, which can extend a filing deadline in appropriate circumstances.
The court did not dismiss the petition at this stage. It stated that, if Shoy timely files an adequate declaration, the court will review it and, if appropriate, order the respondent to answer. If he fails to comply without good cause, or if the declaration does not show that the petition was timely, the court will deny the petition as time-barred. No answer was required from the respondent at this point.
Other Rulings
The court stated that Shoy had not yet made a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied, so it would not issue a certificate of appealability. It also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying the filing fee for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.