Sigala v. Bravo, et al, No. 11-2007 (10th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CasePro se prisoner Petitioner Richard Sigala sought a certificate of appealability (COA) from the Tenth Circuit to appeal the district court’s dismissal of his habeas petition as time barred. After a jury convicted Petitioner of first-degree murder, armed robbery, tampering with evidence, and conspiracy, a New Mexico state court imposed a total sentence of life plus eleven years’ imprisonment, followed by two years of statutory parole. Represented by counsel, Petitioner appealed his convictions. The New Mexico Supreme Court vacated his conviction for armed robbery but affirmed all others. Because Petitioner’s armed robbery sentence ran concurrently with his murder sentence, his total sentence remained unchanged, except he received only one year of statutory parole. Three years later, Petitioner unsuccessfully petitioned the New Mexico state courts for the writ of habeas corpus before turning to the federal courts. The petition eventually came before a magistrate judge who recommended it be dismissed with prejudice because it was filed several years after Petitioner’s conviction became final. The district court adopted the recommendation and dismissed the petition. Upon review, the Tenth Circuit concluded "no reasonable jurist could conclude the district court’s dismissal was incorrect." Accordingly, the Court denied Petitioner’s application for a COA and dismissed his appeal.
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