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Thompson: 2254 Petition Timely

By Tim Cone

In Thompson v. Sec. Dep?t of Corrections, No. 08-10540 (Jan. 27, 2010), the Court held that a § 2254 habeas petition was timely filed, and reversed the dismissal of the petition.The timeliness of Thompson?s federal habeas petition turned on whether his prior ?habeas? filings in Florida State courts were ?properly filed? for the purpose of tolling the one-year statute of limitations of AEDPA. The State argued that they were not properly filed because Florida law requires such challenges to be made in a motion under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.850, not in a ?habeas petition.? The ?properly filed? inquiry, however, goes to whether a court has ?initial jurisdiction? over the filing. Here, Thompson ?invoked the wrong statutory vehicle? but he filed in the ?proper courts...continue to full post

Full post as published by Defense Newsletter Blog on January 28, 2010 (boomark / email).