Fred G. Stillman v. A.A. Lamarque

We are asked to determine whether California prisoner Fred Stillman’s habeas corpus petition was timely. Under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), the timeliness of Stillman’s federal habeas petition depends on whether he filed an earlier California habeas petition before the close of business on August 11, 1999. The California Supreme Court clerk stamped Stillman’s ha-beas petition “filed” on August 12, 1999. Nonetheless, Stillman argues (1) that under the “mailbox rule” he constructively filed the petition on August 11, 1999, and (2) that he is entitled to “equitable tolling” because prison officials’ misconduct caused his filing to be late. We hold that Stillman is not entitled to the benefit of the mailbox rule and that he is entitled to equitable tolling.

I

The facts relevant to this appeal begin in 1998, soon after the California Supreme Court affirmed Stillman’s conviction on direct appeal. Stillman told his court-appointed lawyer that he could not afford to hire a lawyer to represent him in state and federal habeas corpus proceedings, and he asked her to represent him without charge. The lawyer told Stillman she was “not able to assume…