Darin Johnson v. Frank X. Chavez

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Darin Johnson appeals the district court’s dismissal of his federal ha-beas petition as untimely under 28 U.S.C. § 2244 (d). Reviewing de novo, Shannon v. Newland, 410 F.3d 1083 , 1087 n. 3 (9th Cir.2005), we vacate and remand for further proceedings.

1. The district- court did not err in declining to apply an alternate start date under 28 U.S.C. § 2244 (d)(1)(B), which is a “far higher bar than that for equitable tolling.” Ramirez v. Yates, 571 F.3d 993, 1000 (9th Cir.2009). Petitioner has not shown that the prison’s actions “altogether prevented him from presenting his claims in any form, to any court.” Id. at 1001 .

2. The district court erred by rejecting Petitioner’s claim of equitable tolling without further factual development. See Espinoza-Matthews v. California, 432 F.3d 1021, 1026 (9th Cir.2005) (holding that the inquiry is “highly fact-dependent” (internal quotation marks omitted)). For example, it is unclear from the existing record whether, during the several-month period of administrative segregation, Petitioner expressly sought to obtain his legal files or access the library and, if so, whether he was denied access. If the regulations…