After a California court denies a habeas corpus petition challenging something other than a death penalty judgment, a petitioner has at least 120 days to file a new petition in a higher court without the amount of time itself being considered a substantial delay that would make the later petition’s claims untimely.  This is so even if the subsequent petition is the same as the first.

That’s the Supreme Court’s response today to the Ninth Circuit’s longstanding plea for clarity about timeliness of California habeas petitions, an issue of importance in determining whether and how long the one-year limitations period for seeking federal habeas review has been tolled during state proceedings.  However, the court’s unanimous opinion in Robinson v. Lewis by Justice Joshua Groban offers only a degree of certainty in evaluating the timeliness of habeas claims.

Under state law, someone seeking habeas relief cannot appeal from a superior court habeas denial, but must file a new petition in the Court of Appeal, and, if unsuccessful in the Court of Appeal, may file another new petition in the Supreme Court.  But there is no specified deadline for these petitions; rather, timeliness is assessed according to “an indeterminate reasonableness standard.”  And, as the court holds today, although waiting up to 120 days “would never be considered substantial delay,” a delay beyond 120 days will not necessarily be deemed unreasonable.  Further complicating matters, the court says the question is not an entire petition’s timeliness, but the timeliness of the individual claims within the petition.

Exercising its “ ‘inherent authority to establish “rules of judicial procedure,” ’ ” the court chooses 120 days — instead of 60 days or six months, as proposed by the Attorney General and the petitioner, respectively — as “a certain safe harbor.”  The court does not comment on its timeliness in responding to the Ninth Circuit’s inquiry, which was first made 12 years ago.

Related:

U.S. Supreme Court decision that might change the way the California Supreme Court treats habeas corpus petitions

“From the bench, an ‘impotent silence’ ”

“U.S. judges say California’s top court is jeopardizing constitutional rights”