Brian McMonagle v. Don Meyer

OPINION

NGUYEN, Circuit Judge:

Brian McMonagle seeks federal habeas review of a California misdemeanor conviction for driving while under the influence of alcohol. The district court dismissed McMonagle’s petition as untimely under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”), and he appealed. In order to determine the timeliness of McMonagle’s petition, we must decide when his misdemeanor conviction became final for the purposes of AEDPA’s one-year limitation period.

This timeliness inquiry is complicated by the overlap of California’s procedures for direct review of…