When a conviction becomes final
Randy Lavern Lee v. Skinner
In brief
- Where it stands
- Dismissed
Petition denied.
- What it’s about
- Randy Lee asked whether he should have been allowed to appeal over when his conviction became final for the federal deadline to challenge it: it became final on direct review in 2021, a state court set aside his conviction and sentence in June 2024, and the Iowa Court of Appeals later reversed that order.
- Who it affects
- The denial left Lee without Supreme Court review of whether the later state-court proceedings changed the start date for his federal deadline.
Summary: written with AI from the case record.
What it's about
The Supreme Court refused to hear Lee’s case (denied review), so it did not decide the question.
Federal law sets a deadline for people challenging state convictions in federal court; Lee’s dispute concerned when that clock began.
Question presented
Whether a certificate of appealability should have issued on the question of whether Randy Lee’s state-court conviction was “final” for purposes of 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(A) when, although the conviction had become final on direct review in 2021, a state court subsequently vacated the conviction and sentence in June 2024, only for the Iowa Court of Appeals to later reverse that order?
Documents
Docket activity
New analysis added
AI analysis generated: Case Briefing
AI analysis generated: Decision Record
Case data updated: summary, question_presented, generation_metadata
Case data updated: question_presented, extraction_metadata
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Brief added: Petition
Sources
Primary materials from the Court and the parties. Grounded in docket records and cited sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.