Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit decided Lee v. Lampert. Mr. Lee had proven to the district court that he was actually innocent of the state charges for which he was convicted. Too bad, replied the Ninth on appeal: you missed the statutory deadline for filing an original habeas petition, and you don't get a free pass merely because you are actually innocent.
Lee follows on the heals of a Supreme Court case, Dolan v. United States. In Mr. Dolan's case, the district judge had ordered restitution after the ninety-day statutory deadline had passed. No problem, replied the Court in that case: your judge clearly meant to order restitution before the deadline, so what's the problem?
I guess the take-home lesson here is that if you're going to miss a deadline, make sure it's not to assert a right that's safeguarded by the Constitution. Also, it might not hurt to be a judge.
