Hopson v. Ryan
Decision Date | 09 November 2018 |
Docket Number | CV 16-03859-PHX-DLR (MHB) |
Court | U.S. District Court — District of Arizona |
Parties | Leonard Keith Hopson, Petitioner, v. Charles L. Ryan, et al., Respondents. |
On June 13, 2017, Petitioner, Leonard Keith Hopson, who is confined in the Arizona State Prison, Huachuca Unit, Kingman, Arizona, filed a pro se Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (hereinafter "amended habeas petition")1. (Doc. 13). On November 6, 2017, Respondents filed a Limited Answer (Doc. 21), and on May 1, 2018, Petitioner filed a Reply (Doc. 32).
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Petitioner was indicted in September, 2011 on two counts of aggravated assault, eight counts of sexual conduct with a minor, and four counts of molestation of a child. (Exh. B2.) The facts, as reported in the Presentence Report, were as follows:
On August 31, 2012, Petitioner pleaded guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement, to three counts of attempted child molestation: Counts 2 and 8 against victim RH, and Count 14 against victim KH. (Exh. D.) Petitioner agreed to a sentence of lifetime probation on Counts 2 and 8, and a sentence of no greater than the presumptive 10-years on Count 14. (Id.) In his plea agreement, Petitioner agreed to "waive[] and give[] up any and all motions, defenses, objections, or requests which he has made or raised, or could assert hereafter, to the court's entry of judgment against him and imposition of a sentence upon him consistent with [the plea] agreement." (Id.) Petitioner furthermore waived and gave up his right to appeal. (Id.)
On October 4, 2012, Petitioner was sentenced to 10-years imprisonment on Count 14, to be followed by lifetime probation on Counts 2 and 8. (Exh. J.) Petitioner was given credit for 276 days of presentence incarceration. (Id.) Petitioner was provided with and signed his notice of rights of appeal and post-conviction relief, which included the deadlines for filing. (Exh. I.)
On May 7, 2013, the Maricopa County Clerk of Court received for filing three documents from Petitioner: a Notice of Post-Conviction Relief (Exh. K), a letter to the court (Exh. L), and a Request for Preparation of Post-Conviction Record (Exh. M). Only the letter to the court indicates when it was mailed - on May 6, 2013. In the other two documents, Petitioner dated his signature November 1, 2012, but does not specify when the documents were mailed. In fact, in Petitioner's Request for Preparation of Post-Conviction Relief Record, the mailing date was left blank. (Exh. M at 2.) The court docket does not reflect any filings by Petitioner after his sentencing until these filings on May 7, 2013. (Exh. A at 4.)
On June 7, 2013, the trial court denied relief, for the reason that Petitioner's Rule 32 proceedings were "initiated in an untimely manner." (Exh. N.) The court determined that Petitioner's notice of post-conviction relief was due to be filed with the court by January 4, 2013, and thus his May 7, 2013, filings were untimely under state law. The court also found that Petitioner failed to state a claim for relief which could be granted in an untimely Rule 32 proceeding, as Petitioner's "[N]otice does not state any claims for relief nor does it contain any facts, memoranda, or law." (Id.) Petitioner did not seek appellate review of that decision within the thirty day time limit provided by Rule 32.9(c), Ariz. R.Crim. P. (Exh. A at 4.) Instead, Petitioner chose to file numerous documents in the trial court over the next three years that were considered by the court, but summarily addressed or denied. (Id. at 4 at 1-4; Exhs. O-Z, AA-CC, EE-HH, FF, QQ, RR, SS, VV, ZZ.) Several of Petitioner's filings were construed as successive PCR proceedings, and deemed untimely by the trial court. (Exhs. O, P, Q, BB.) Petitioner was successful on two unopposed motions that he filed on May 4, 2016, relating to the percentage surcharge applied to fines assessed, and to the amount of credit he received for presentence incarceration time. (Exhs. DD, II) On August 14, 2016, the trial court awarded Petitioner an additional 62 days of presentence incarceration credit, and reduced the surcharges on the fines assessed on each count. (Exh. NN.)
Although the state court dismissed Petitioner's initial PCR notice as untimely, Petitioner nonetheless filed several pleadings in the Arizona Court of Appeals. Petitioner filed a Special Action in July, 2015, posing several questions of law to the Court. (Exh. BBB.) The Court declined to accept jurisdiction. (Exh. CCC.) In July, 2016, Petitioner filed a "notice of Petition for Review" in the Court of Appeals, (Exh. EEE), followed by a "Petition for Review," in August, 2016, (Exh. FFF). On September 19, 2017, the appellate court denied review in a written Memorandum Decision, first addressing the procedural history of Petitioner's case:
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