Gregory Dixon v. Robert Ayers , 474 F. App'x 535 ( 2012 )

FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION JUL 03 2012
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
GREGORY DIXON, No. 09-56242
a.k.a. Greg Jerome Dixon,
D.C. No. 2:08-cv-07189-SGL
Petitioner - Appellant,
v. MEMORANDUM *
ROBERT L. AYERS, Jr., Warden,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
Stephen G. Larson, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted June 26, 2012 **
Before: SCHROEDER, HAWKINS, and GOULD, Circuit Judges.
California state prisoner Gregory Dixon appeals from the district court’s
judgment dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition as untimely. We have
jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253, and we vacate and remand.
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
Dixon contends that he is entitled to equitable tolling of AEDPA’s statute of
limitations through September 2007 due to schizophrenia that prevented him from
timely filing a federal habeas petition. The uncontested evidence that Dixon
submitted in the district court was sufficient to support the inference that his
mental illness was severe and continued throughout the limitations period, so as to
entitle him to an evidentiary hearing to determine his entitlement to equitable
tolling. See Bills v. Clark, 628 F.3d 1092, 1100 (9th Cir. 2010); Laws v.
Lamarque, 351 F.3d 919, 924 (9th Cir. 2003). The evidence further suggested that
Dixon acted with diligence in pursuing his legal remedies once the burden of
mental illness was lifted. See Bills, 628 F.3d at 1100-01. Accordingly, we remand
for an evidentiary hearing.
VACATED and REMANDED.
2 09-56242