Marler (ID 91974) v. Langford

District Court, D. Kansas·Decided June 10, 2022·No. 5:20-cv-03247·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS

RANDY ALLEN MARLER,

Petitioner,

v. CASE NO. 20-3247-SAC

DONALD LANGFORD,

Respondent.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

This matter is a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, filed by Kansas prisoner Randy Allen Marler. For the reasons explained below, the Court will dismiss all grounds in the action as time-barred except Ground Three and will direct Respondent to file his Answer to Ground Three on or before July 11, 2022. Background In May 2008, a jury in Sumner County, Kansas convicted Petitioner of rape, aggravated indecent liberties with a child, and endangering a child. State v. Marler, 290 Kan. 119, 120 (2010) (Marler I). He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without possibility of parole for 25 years. Id. Petitioner pursued a timely direct appeal and, in an opinion issued on January 29, 2010, the Kansas Supreme Court (KSC) affirmed the convictions and sentences. Id. Petitioner did not file a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court. (See Doc. 26, p. 3.) On January 24, 2011, Petitioner filed a motion in state court trial counsel provided unconstitutionally defective assistance, in violation of Petitioner’s Sixth Amendment rights. See Online Records of Sumner County District Court, case number 11-CV-10; (Doc. 26, p. 3-4). After the district court denied the motion, Petitioner appealed. See Marler v. State, 2013 WL 5870049 (Kan. Ct. App. 2013) (unpublished opinion) (Marler II), rev. denied Aug. 14, 2014. The Kansas Court of Appeals (KCOA) affirmed the denial and, on August 14, 2014, the KSC denied Petitioner’s petition for review. On July 15, 2015, Petitioner filed a second K.S.A. 60-1507 motion. Marler v. State, 2019 WL 6973449, at *5 (Kan. Ct. App. 2019) (unpublished opinion) (Marler III), rev. denied Aug. 31, 2020; Online records of Sumner County District Court, case number 15-CV- 62; (Doc. 26, p. 4). The district court again denied relief, and Petitioner appealed to the KCOA, which affirmed the denial. Marler III, 2019 WL 6973449, at *1. On August 31, 2020, the KSC denied Petitioner’s petition for review. On September 30, 2020, Petitioner filed in this Court a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. (Doc. 1.) At the time, Petitioner was proceeding pro se. See id. The Court conducted an initial review of the petition as required by Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts and concluded that the petition was not timely filed. (Doc. 3, p. 1-4.) Accordingly, the Court issued an order to show cause, explaining the timing requirements for a § 2254 petition as well as the circumstances required to apply statutory or equitable tolling or the actual innocence exception to the statute of limitations. Id. at 5. The Court directed Petitioner dismissed as untimely filed. Id. at 5. Petitioner filed a pro se response to the order to show cause, making several arguments that his petition was timely filed. (Doc. 4.) The Court considered those arguments and concluded that a limited Pre-Answer Response (PAR) was appropriate, so on June 2, 2021, the Court issued an order directing Respondent to file a PAR addressing timeliness. (Doc. 6.) Respondent filed the PAR on July 14, 2021, arguing that the petition was time-barred and should be dismissed. (Doc. 9.) Petitioner filed his pro se reply to the PAR on August 31, 2021. (Doc. 11.) Shortly thereafter, without ruling on the timeliness issue, the Court ordered Respondent to show cause why the writ should not be granted. (Doc. 12.) However, in September 2021, counsel entered an appearance for Petitioner and moved to file an amended petition. (Docs. 14, 15, and 16.) On October 5, 2021, the Court granted the motion. (Doc. 19.) In the portion of the amended petition dedicated to timeliness, Petitioner asserts that the petition is timely filed and that the Court’s action in ordering an answer to the initial petition “implicitly [found] the 2254 petition is deemed to be considered timely filed.” (Doc. 26, p. 13.) This statement misconstrued the Court’s action or lack thereof. Accordingly, on April 14, 2022, the Court issued a Memorandum and Order staying the deadline for the answer and setting a schedule for the parties to submit any additional arguments regarding timeliness. (Doc. 28.) Petitioner filed his response on May 13, 2022 (Doc. 29) and Respondent filed his on June 9, 2022 (Doc. 30). The Court has Order as well as their prior written arguments on timeliness. For the reasons explained below, concludes that, except for Ground Three, all grounds for relief in this matter must be dismissed as time-barred. Analysis This action is subject to the one-year limitation period established by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”) in 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d). Section 2244(d)(1) provides:

A 1-year period of limitation shall apply to an application for a writ of habeas corpus by a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court. The limitation period shall run from the latest of –

(A) the date on which the judgment became final by the conclusion of direct review or the expiration of the time for seeking such review;

(B) the date on which the impediment to filing an application created by State action in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States is removed, if the applicant was prevented from filing by such State action;

(C) the date on which the constitutional right asserted was initially recognized by the Supreme Court, if the right has been newly recognized by the Supreme Court and made retroactively applicable to case on collateral review; or

(D) the date on which the factual predicate of the claim or claims presented could have been discovered through the exercise of due diligence.

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