Clay v. United States
Erik Clay moved to vacate his sentence more than one year after his convictions on federal arson and narcotics trafficking charges was affirmed by a federal court of appeals. The district court denied the motion as untimely under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA). The court of appeals affirmed, holding that the motion was untimely because Clay never filed a certiorari petition following the affirmance of his convictions and thus did not have a 90-day certiorari window added to the one-year limitations period for filing a motion to vacate.
Question Presented:
Whether petitioner's judgment of conviction became ”final” within the meaning of AEDPA one year after the court of appeals issued its mandate on direct appeal or one year after his time
for filing a petition for a writ of certiorari expired.
(No free link available)
