Mark Christeson v. Don Roper

Mark Christeson appeals from an order of the district court2 denying his motion to reopen a final judgment dismissing his ha-beas corpus application as untimely. Christeson was convicted of three counts of capital murder in Missouri and sentenced to death. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences, State v. Christeson, 50 S.W.3d 251 (Mo. 2001), and later affirmed the denial of state postconviction relief. Christeson v. State, 131 S.W.3d 796 (Mo. 2004).

The federal district court, on July 2, 2004, then appointed two attorneys to represent Christeson in federal habeas…