Fredys Martinez v. Jack Palmer

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Fredys A. Martinez (Martinez) challenges the district court’s dismissal of his untimely federal habeas petition pursuant to the statute of limitations set forth in the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA). Martinez contends that he was entitled to equitable tolling because the prison failed to provide him with Spanish-language resources and he was unable to timely obtain his files from his appellate counsel.

The district court permissibly held that equitable tolling based on Martinez’s lack of English proficiency was unwarranted because Martinez was able to obtain English translations during the AEDPA statute of limitations period. See Yeh v. Martel, 751 F.3d 1075, 1078 (9th Cir.2014) (denying equitable tolling because the petitioner received translation assistance during the limitations period).

Martinez did not satisfy his burden of demonstrating that it was impossible for him to timely file his federal habeas petition due to the library paging system or his administrative segregation.

Even assuming that Martinez did not receive his files from his appellate counsel until January, 2010, Martinez did not act with reasonable diligence by…