Chance Blackman v. Theresa Cisneros

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

CHANCE BLACKMAN, No. 23-55340

Petitioner-Appellant, D.C. No. 2:21-cv-02739- v. MEMF-JPR

THERESA CISNEROS,

OPINION

Respondent-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted September 11, 2024 Pasadena, California

Filed November 29, 2024

Before: Sandra S. Ikuta, Michelle T. Friedland, and Kenneth K. Lee, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Ikuta SUMMARY*

Habeas Corpus

The panel affirmed the district court’s judgment dismissing a federal habeas petition filed by state prisoner Chance Blackman more than a year after the federal statute of limitations had run. Blackman claimed he is entitled to equitable tolling of the limitations period because he was subject to severe mental and physical impairments that rendered him unable to file a timely federal habeas petition. The panel held that because Blackman was able to use the assistance available to him in prison to file multiple cogent…