Joost v. United States

Petitioner Robert Joost appeals pro se from a district court decision dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 petition as untimely. See 336 F.Supp.2d 185 (D.R.I.2004). He there sought to advance a single claim under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194,10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), based on documents he obtained through a post-judgment Freedom of Information Act request, see 5 U.S.C. § 552 (FOIA).

Joost received a certificate of appealability (COA) to address the timeliness issue; but that issue turns out to raise difficult questions which we are reluctant to resolve in this pro se setting, and…