Hutcherson

MEMORANDUM *

Juan Hutcherson appeals the district court’s dismissal of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition as untimely. We affirm.

Hutcherson filed his federal petition over two years after the statute of limitations expired. See 28 U.S.C. § 2244 (d)(1) (providing a one-year limitations period). Thus, his petition is untimely absent some form of tolling. Hutcherson contends that *770 he is entitled to equitable tolling for his attorney’s dilatory behavior from the time that the limitations period began on April 24, 1996 until he succeeded in hiring replacement counsel in May of 1998. See Calderon v. U.S. Dist. Court (Beeler), 128 F.3d 1283, 1288 (9th Cir.1997) (equitable tolling granted “if ‘extraordinary circumstances’ beyond a prisoner’s control make it impossible to file a petition on time”). Even if his attorney’s conduct rose to the level of “extraordinary conduct” necessary to establish equitable tolling, Hutcherson has not alleged facts sufficient to establish that “external forces, rather than [his] lack of diligence, account for his failure to file a timely claim.” Miles v. Prunty, 187 F.3d 1104, 1107 (9th Cir.1999). Hutcherson fails to acknowledge the significance of…