Stewart

Nashawn Lamone Stewart (Stewart) appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus on timeliness grounds. Stewart argues that the one-year statute of limitations under the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), 28 U.S.C. § 2244 (d)(1), should be equitably tolled. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253 , and we vacate and remand. We review de novo a district court’s dismissal of a habeas petition on timeliness grounds. Guillory v. Roe, 329 F.3d 1015, 1017 (9th Cir. 2003). A district court’s decision whether *773 to apply equitable tolling is reviewed for abuse of discretion, unless the relevant facts are undisputed, in which case the legal issues are reviewed de novo. Jones v. Blanas, 393 F.3d 918, 926 (9th Cir.2004) (citing Santa Maria v. Pacific Bell, 202 F.3d 1170, 1175 (9th Cir.2000)).

I.

AEDPA imposes a one-year statute of limitations for the filing of federal habeas corpus petitions. 28 U.S.C. § 2244 (d); Pliler v. Ford, 542 U.S. 225 , -, 124 S.Ct. 2441, 2445 , 159 L.Ed.2d 338 (2004). The statute of limitations begins to run when the judgment becomes final by the expiration of the time for seeking certiorari in…