Larry Burks v. Wendy Kelley

COLLOTON, Circuit Judge.

Larry Burks was convicted of rape in Arkansas and sentenced to thirty years in prison. When Burks, more than five years later, petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, there was a dispute about whether the petition was timely. The district court determined that the one-year statute of limitations should be equitably tolled and deemed Burks’s petition timely. The State appeals, and we conclude that Burks is not entitled to equitable tolling, because he did not demonstrate reasonable diligence during the limitations period. Accordingly, we vacate…