Anthony Marshall Spears v. Terry Stewart, Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Opinion

In this interlocutory appeal, we have agreed to answer the following question: “whether Arizona, as of July [17], 1998,[ ] qualified to opt-in to Chapter 154, Special Habeas Corpus Procedures in Capital Cases, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2261-2266 ,” a part of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA). We hold that Arizona’s mechanism for the appointment of counsel for indigent capital defendants in state post-conviction proceedings met the requirements of Chapter 154 and, accordingly, qualified for opt-in status as of that date. However, we also hold that Arizona is not entitled to enforce the procedures of Chapter 154 in this case, because it did not comply with the timeliness requirement of its own system with respect to Petitioner.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Petitioner Anthony Marshall Spears was convicted of first-degree murder and theft and was sentenced to death in 1992. The Arizona Supreme Court affirmed Petitioner’s convictions and sentence on direct appeal on January 4, 1996. The Supreme Court of the United States denied certiora-ri on November 4, 1996. The Arizona Supreme Court neither issued a mandate nor appointed post-conviction counsel at that…