Roy Edward Franklin v. Dick Busby

After being sentenced to a year’s imprisonment for loitering and possession of drug paraphernalia by the District Court of West Memphis, Arkansas, Roy Edward Franklin brought a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas 1 dismissed with prejudice Franklin’s petition, concluding that Franklin’s failure to pursue an appeal of his state conviction procedurally barred him from federal habeas relief. Because Franklin failed to file a notice of appeal within 30 days of entry of judgment by the federal district…