Ronnie Famous v. Larry Fuchs

In the

United States Court of Appeals

For the Seventh Circuit

____________________

No. 19-3227

RONNIE L. FAMOUS,

Petitioner-Appellant,

v.

LARRY FUCHS, WARDEN,

Respondent-Appellee.

____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the

Eastern District of Wisconsin.

No. 2:10-cv-00707 — William C. Griesbach, Judge.

____________________

ARGUED SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 — DECIDED JUNE 29, 2022

____________________

Before EASTERBROOK, RIPPLE, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges.

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge. In 1998, in Wisconsin state court, a

jury convicted Ronnie Famous of four counts of first-degree

sexual assault of a child and one count of exposing a child to

harmful material. The court sentenced him to 168 years of

confinement. Mr. Famous then challenged his convictions on

direct appeal. In 2001, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals

2 No. 19-3227

affirmed his convictions, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court

1

denied relief on November 27, 2001.

Mr. Famous did not file a petition for certiorari in the

Supreme Court of the United States. The one-year statute of

limitations period under the Antiterrorism and Effective

Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”) therefore began to run on

February 25, 2002, the date on which the time to file a petition

2

expired. Mr. Famous failed to file a federal petition for habeas

corpus by the one-year deadline. When he finally filed his

petition on August 17, 2010, the district court dismissed it as

untimely, rejecting Mr. Famous’s arguments that he was

entitled to the defenses of statutory and equitable estoppel.

We now affirm the judgment of the district court. The

court did not abuse its discretion in denying Mr. Famous the

defense of statutory estoppel. Mr. Famous failed to set forth

sufficient information to raise statutory estoppel to the State’s

statute of limitations defense. Indeed, he failed to provide

even the information reasonably available to him. Given the

laconic nature of his submission, the district court also did not

abuse its discretion in denying Mr. Famous’s request to take

further discovery on that issue.

The district court also did not abuse its discretion in reject-

ing the defense of equitable tolling. The court did not clearly

err in concluding that, even excluding the period when his

appellate attorney allegedly retained his file, Mr. Famous still

had not filed his petition in a timely manner. The district

1 R.65 at 3.

2 See Sup. Ct. R. 13.1 (setting forth the ninety-day period for filing a peti-

tion for certiorari in the Supreme Court of the United States).

No. 19-3227 3

court’s decision that Mr. Famous’s chronic mental illness did

not impede a timely filing also is supported by the record and

therefore is not clearly erroneous.

I

BACKGROUND

We begin by setting out, in broad strokes, the legal land-

scape and essential facts of the situation before us.

AEDPA imposes a one-year statute of limitations period

on habeas petitioners in custody pursuant to a state-court

judgment. 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1). But the one-year statute of

limitations is tolled if the petitioner applies for state

postconviction relief or for other collateral review of the

judgment. § 2244(d)(2). Moreover, the statute of limitations

does not run if an “impediment to filing an application

created by State action in violation of the Constitution or laws

of the United States … prevented [the petitioner] from filing.”

§ 2244(d)(1)(B). Additionally, the doctrine of equitable tolling

also may apply to a habeas petition if the petitioner, here

Mr. Famous, demonstrates that he pursued his rights

diligently and that some extraordinary circumstance

nevertheless prevented him from timely filing. Socha v.

Boughton, 763 F.3d 674, 683 (7th Cir. 2014).

As we noted earlier, Mr. Famous’s one-year statute of

limitations period under AEDPA began running on February

25, 2002. He therefore had until February 25, 2003, to file a

3

federal habeas petition. He did not file a petition in federal

3 See 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1) (“A 1-year period of limitation shall apply … .

The limitation period shall run from the latest of—(A) the date on which

4 No. 19-3227

court until August 17, 2010. He recognizes that he did not file

his petition by the statutory deadline but asserts that the

period should be tolled.

We now review the events between the denial of his direct

appeal from his state conviction and the filing of his federal

habeas petition in August 2010 that Mr. Famous claims affect

his filing deadline.

After the Wisconsin Supreme Court denied his request for

further direct review in November 2001, Mr. Famous’s appel-

late attorney retained his legal case file until June 2005. The

record reveals that, during this time, Mr. Famous sent four

4

letters to the attorney, asking for his file. On June 28, 2005,

5

Mr. Famous finally received his legal case file. He immedi-

ately gave it to a jailhouse lawyer to help him prepare his ha-

beas petition. The very next month, however, prison officials

confiscated Mr. Famous’s file from the jailhouse lawyer when

they transferred that individual to a segregation unit. Mr. Fa-

mous made several requests to prison authorities for his file,

but they did not return the material to him until April 30,

6

2007.

the judgment became final by the conclusion of direct review or the expi-

ration of the time for seeking such review[.]”).

4 The letters are dated: February 12, 2002; June 16, 2002; October 20, 2003;

November 27, 2004. R.53-1 at 10, 11, 13, 14.

5 R.53 at 19.

6 Id. at 19–20. Mr. Famous submitted letters and complaints to the prison,

which responded to him. The record indicates these letters and responses

were exchanged on these dates: October 15, 2005; September 26, 2006; Oc-

tober 3, 2006; October 13, 2006. R.53-1 at 16–25.

No. 19-3227 5

On June 18, 2007, Mr. Famous filed his first petition for

writ of habeas corpus with the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but

7

it was denied on August 14, 2007. After this denial, Mr. Fa-

mous took no further action until June 2008. The record con-

tains minimal information about this time. As we will discuss

later, the State asserts, and the district court agreed, that the

statute of limitations ran during this time; Mr. Famous main-

tains that this period should be tolled because his severe men-

tal illness prevented him from filing a petition in a timely

8

manner.

On June 16, 2008, Mr. Famous attempted to file, in the Wis-

consin circuit court, a second habeas petition, but was unsuc-

cessful. Mr. Famous claims that a court clerk told him that he

needed to file additional papers with his petition before the

9

court would accept it. After doing as instructed, Mr. Famous

10

mailed the petition to a judge of that court on July 21, 2008.

After some time had passed and he had failed to receive a re-

sponse from the court, he withdrew the petition and filed it

7 The Wisconsin Court of Appeals noted in a 2009 decision, “WSCCA rec-

ords indicate that in June 2007, Famous filed a petition for writ of habeas

corpus in the supreme court, which the court denied ex parte. We have no

information as to the substance of the petition or the basis for the denial.”

R.50-4 at 3.

8 On appeal, Mr. Famous contends that he suffered a mental illness

throughout the entire period from February 2002 to August 2010. Appel-

lant’s Br. 22.

9 R.53-1 at 35–48.

10 R.53 at 23.

6 No. 19-3227

11

with the Wisconsin Court of Appeals on March 16, 2009.

Mr. Famous’s petition alleged that “his resentencing was ille-

gal and unconstitutional, and that trial, postconviction, and

appellate counsel were ineffective for failing to address the

12

resentencing issue.” The petition was denied on May 5,

13

2009.

In its opinion denying Mr. Famous’s petition, the Wiscon-

sin Court of Appeals rejected his claims and directed him to

file a proper motion in the circuit court. The court noted that

Mr. Famous’s resentencing was neither illegal nor unconsti-

14

tutional. Next, the court quickly dispensed with several of

Mr. Famous’s other arguments before turning to his assertion

that counsel’s failure to address the resentencing issue had

denied him effective representation during every stage of

11 Id. at 23–24.

12 R.50-4 at 1–2.

13 The Wisconsin Court of Appeals recognized the difficulty in establish-

ing the procedural history of this case. The court included this footnote in

their order:

“Famous’ memorandum in support of his petition imparts little

procedural history, and he provides us with no records other

than the hearing transcripts from his 1998 sentencing and 2001

resentencing. We thus look to docket entries reported on the Wis-

consin Circuit Court Access (WCCA) and Wisconsin Supreme

Court and Court of Appeals Access (WSCCA) websites, although

the docket entries provide little substantive data.”

Id. at 2.

14 Mr. Famous was originally sentenced to life without parole but was

later resentenced to 168 years due to the improper application of a sen-

tencing enhancement.

No. 19-3227 7

trial, sentencing, and on appeal. The appellate court explained

that Mr. Famous must bring his ineffective assistance of trial

and postconviction counsel in the trial court either by a peti-

tion for habeas corpus or by a motion under Wisconsin statute

15

§ 974.06. The court also addressed his claim that his appel-

late counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to chal-

lenge the resentencing issue. It noted that it had already con-

cluded that his contention was not supported by law because

the failure to pursue a meritless course of action does not con-

stitute deficient performance. After the denial, Mr. Famous

filed a petition for review with the Wisconsin Supreme Court,

but it was denied on August 17, 2009. His motion to recon-

sider was also denied on September 3, 2009.

Mr. Famous took no further action until August 17, 2010,

when he filed his first petition for habeas corpus in federal

court. On October 28, 2010, he filed an amended petition and

a motion to stay his federal case so that he could pursue un-

16

exhausted claims in state court. The district court stayed the

15 Id. at 6–7.

16 The district court summarized his reasons for requesting the stay:

“Famous asserts that he failed to exhaust these claims for several

reasons. First, he states that he could not exhaust his claims be-

cause his appellate counsel was ineffective. Famous indicates

that there was also delay caused by his appellate counsel’s failure

to give him all of the files and documents promptly after his ap-

peal concluded. Second, he contends that prison officials caused

a delay by confiscating his legal documents from the jail house

lawyer who was preparing documents for him inasmuch as he is

incompetent. Third, Famous asserts that he has very limited ac-

cess to the law library. Finally, he reiterates that he was mentally

incompetent and unable to file his Wis. Stat. § 974.06 motion.”

8 No. 19-3227

federal case on January 31, 2011, to permit Mr. Famous to ex-

haust state remedies.

After Mr. Famous exhausted his claims in state court pro-

ceedings from 2013 to 2018, he filed a third amended habeas

petition in federal court on February 13, 2019. The district

court screened the petition and ordered the State to respond.

On April 15, 2019, the State filed a motion to dismiss the peti-

tion, asserting that it was untimely. Mr. Famous responded

with statutory and equitable tolling arguments. On October

10, 2019, the district court granted the State’s motion to dis-

miss. It concluded that Mr. Famous’s petition was time-

barred by AEDPA’s one-year statute of limitations for filing a

habeas petition in 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(A). Consequently, it

did not reach the merits of either of Mr. Famous’s ineffective

assistance of counsel claims.

II

DISCUSSION

Our review of a district court’s decision declining to apply

statutory or equitable estoppel is for abuse of discretion. See

Schmid v. McCauley, 825 F.3d 348, 350 (7th Cir. 2016) (citing

17

Tucker v. Kingston, 538 F.3d 732, 735 (7th Cir. 2008)).

R.22 at 3–4.

17 When a district court rules on the issue of equitable tolling and when

there is an obvious need for further record development, we have not ap-

plied that deferential standard but have reviewed the matter de novo.

Schmid v. McCauley, 825 F.3d 348, 350 (7th Cir. 2016). For the reasons ex-

plained later in the text, we do not think that such a situation is presented

here.

No. 19-3227 9

A. Statutory Tolling

We first address Mr. Famous’s statutory tolling claim.

Mr. Famous submits that the prison law library failed to pro-

vide him with a copy of the AEDPA statute and therefore he

18

was unaware of the one-year statute of limitations. He con-

tends that by not providing him a copy of AEDPA’s time lim-

itations, the Green Bay Correctional Institution (“GBCI”) pre-

vented him from learning of the one-year limit and therefore

created an impediment under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(B). Mr.

Famous invites our attention to our decision in Estremera v.

United States, 724 F.3d 773, 776 (7th Cir. 2013). He submits that

the district court further abused its discretion in denying his

request for discovery to develop fully the factual circum-

stances supporting his contention.

In rejecting this argument, the district court reasoned that

a petitioner’s ignorance or misunderstanding of the law did

not constitute the extraordinary circumstances necessary for

equitable tolling. The State relies on the district court’s ra-

tionale. It further submits that the present case is not con-

trolled by Estremera. In that case, the State points out, the pe-

titioner alleged that he was in segregation and had no access

to the prison library during the entire period for which he

sought equitable tolling.

In Estremera, we held that “lack of library access can, in

principle, be an ‘impediment’ to the filing of a collateral

18 R.53 at 15 (“Because the GBCI law library did not provide a copy of

AEDPA’s time limitations, which establishes the one-year period of limi-

tation for filing of § 2254 petitions.” [sic]).

10 No. 19-3227

19

attack.” Id. at 776. We joined two other federal circuits that

had reached the same conclusion. See id. at 777 (noting our

agreement with Egerton v. Cockrell, 334 F.3d 433, 438 (5th Cir.

2003), and Whalem/Hunt v. Early, 233 F.3d 1146, 1148 (9th Cir.

2000) (en banc)). Like our sister circuits, however, we made

clear that whether a petitioner could invoke the statutory re-

set provision depended on whether the petitioner could

demonstrate a need for access to the library. See id.

The district court correctly noted that, in general, a peti-

tioner’s lack of knowledge of governing legal rules does not

justify the invocation of statutory or equitable tolling. See So-

cha, 763 F.3d at 685; Arieta v. Battaglia, 461 F.3d 861, 867 (7th

Cir. 2006). Estremera, and its companions in other circuits, ar-

ticulate the important qualifier to that general principle: The

State’s creation or maintenance of an impediment to a peti-

tioner’s acquiring necessary information can excuse, under

extraordinary circumstances, legal ignorance that results

from that impediment.

Here, the district court did not analyze the present situa-

tion through the lens of Estremera, but we cannot say that this

omission was fatal. Mr. Famous simply did not make an ade-

quate showing that the library at GBCI had created an

19 Estremera v. United States, 724 F.3d 773, 776 (7th Cir. 2013) involved a

request for access to a prison library. Our case might well be characterized

as involving the adequacy of the prison’s library resources. However, our

approval of Egerton v. Cockrell, 334 F.3d 433, 438 (5th Cir. 2003), a library

adequacy case and Whalem/Hunt v. Early, 233 F.3d 1146, 1147 (9th Cir.

2000) (en banc), also a library adequacy case, confirms that both accessi-

bility and adequacy cases are subject to the same analysis. See Estremera,

724 F.3d at 777.

No. 19-3227 11

impediment to his filing a timely petition. After Mr. Famous

filed his petition, the State raised in its response the statute of

limitations defense. Replying to the State’s submission,

Mr. Famous simply stated that GBCI “did not provide a copy

20

of the AEDPA’s time limitations.” He further asked that he

be permitted to engage in discovery to show that the “law li-

brary did not contain a copy of the AEDPA’s time limitations

21

during [his] appeal process.”

Even when we take into consideration his pro se status at

the time, Mr. Famous’s terse allegation is insufficient to raise

the defense that an “impediment created by State action in vi-

olation of the Constitution or laws of the United States” pre-

22

vented his filing a petition in a timely manner. At the time

that he asserted this defense, Mr. Famous certainly could have

provided sufficient additional information that would have

assisted the district court in determining whether he had

faced a state-created impediment. But his reply lacks any such

information. He gave no description about the nature or ex-

tent of his alleged deprivation. He left the district court to

guess as to whether he was complaining that the State did not

take the initiative in supplying him with such a copy, whether

20 R.53 at 15.

21 Id. at 16.

22 Like pro se complaints, pro se habeas petitions must be construed lib-

erally. See Frazier v. Varga, 843 F.3d 258, 262–63 (7th Cir. 2016) (citing Estelle

v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976)). But even with this liberal construction,

pro se litigants still must offer an articulable basis for disturbing the dis-

trict court’s judgment. See Anderson v. Hardman, 241 F.3d 544, 545 (7th Cir.

2001).

12 No. 19-3227

he ever asked for a copy, or whether the law library, although

making the statutory provision available for him to read,

simply did not provide a copy. He simply provides no infor-

mation about his interaction with state employees at the

prison on this subject, assuming that there was some interac-

tion.

Given the paucity of factual narrative as to information

that was within Mr. Famous’s knowledge, the district court

was entitled to treat this allegation as legally insufficient to

sustain an assertion that the State had created a constitutional

23

impediment to a timely filing. Moreover, Mr. Famous’s la-

conic allegation, unaccompanied by information that the dis-

trict court could reasonably expect to be within his

knowledge, did not, moreover, provide the district court with

sufficient information to permit it to make a reasoned judg-

ment on the appropriateness of discovery or the permissible

24

scope of that discovery. Therefore, the district court did not

abuse its discretion by not applying statutory tolling.

23 Although Mr. Famous’s petition was verified under oath, the reply,

submitted much later, was not. It therefore cannot constitute a sworn affi-

davit. As we note in the text, moreover, such affidavit would be an insuf-

ficient allegation of a state-created impediment to filing a timely petition.

24 “A habeas petitioner, unlike the usual civil litigant in federal court, is

not entitled to discovery as a matter of ordinary course.” Bracy v. Gramley,

520 U.S. 899, 904 (1997). “Rule 6(a) [of the Rules Governing § 2254 Cases]

makes it clear that the scope and extent of such discovery is a matter con-

fided to the discretion of the District Court.” Id. at 909. To satisfy the two

requirements of the Rule 6(a) test, a petitioner must: “(1) make a colorable

claim showing that the underlying facts, if proven, constitute a constitu-

tional violation; and (2) show ‘good cause’ for the discovery.” Hubanks v.

Frank, 392 F.3d 926, 933 (7th Cir. 2004). “‘Good cause’ exists when the facts

No. 19-3227 13

B. Equitable Tolling

1.

Mr. Famous also submits that his petition is not barred be-

cause a combination of three factors entitles him to equitable

tolling. Specifically, Mr. Famous submits that several “ex-

traordinary circumstances” required the application of equi-

table tolling or at least an evidentiary hearing to explore the

underlying circumstances.

Mr. Famous first claims that he is entitled to equitable toll-

ing because his appellate counsel retained his case file after

the Wisconsin Supreme Court denied his petition for review

on November 27, 2001. Mr. Famous claims that he made many

attempts to obtain the file but did not receive it until June 28,

2005. He further states that, after he finally received the file

from his former counsel, he gave it to a so-called “jailhouse

lawyer” in July 2005 in an effort to seek assistance in filing his

petition. He then alleges that prison authorities confiscated

the file when they transferred the jailhouse lawyer to another

institution and that, despite his best efforts, he was unable to

retrieve the file from authorities until April 2007. Finally,

Mr. Famous submits that his chronic mental health problems

justify the invocation of equitable tolling.

In its memorandum order dismissing Mr. Famous’s peti-

tion, the district court addressed each of Mr. Famous’s con-

tentions.

alleged, if fully developed, may entitle the petitioner to relief. The factual

allegations, however, must not be speculative or conclusory because dis-

covery is not intended to be a fishing expedition.” Higgason v. Lemmon,

6 F. App’x 433, 436 (7th Cir. 2001) (cleaned up).

14 No. 19-3227

With respect to the retention of the case file by appellate

counsel, the district court simply pointed out that, even as-

suming the veracity of Mr. Famous’s allegations, he still had

not established that he had diligently pursued his rights once

he was in possession of the file. Rather, the court simply re-

marked that, here, such a retention, assuming that it had oc-

curred, was not outcome-determinative because Mr. Famous

had not acted with reasonable diligence when he had posses-

sion of the file.

Addressing Mr. Famous’s turning the file over to the jail-

house lawyer, the court took the view that Mr. Famous had to

bear the responsibility for his loss of access because of that

inmate’s subsequent transfer. The court did not address

whether Mr. Famous had made adequate efforts to retrieve

the file once it was seized by prison authorities.

Finally, after examining the medical records submitted by

Mr. Famous, the district court determined that, although

there was no question that Mr. Famous suffered from mental

illness (and suffered from such an illness even prior to his in-

carceration), there was no evidence that he lacked the capacity

to address his legal rights during the period in question.

Because there was no evidence that Mr. Famous had acted

diligently even when he had possession of his file and because

the record did not support a finding that he was incapacitated

due to his mental illness, the district court concluded that the

invocation of equitable tolling was not appropriate.

2.

We review the district court’s decision not to apply equi-

table estoppel for abuse of discretion. Mayberry v. Dittmann,

904 F.3d 525, 530 (7th Cir. 2018). In the course of our

No. 19-3227 15

evaluation, we must accept the factual findings of the district

25

court unless they are clearly erroneous.

Although a district court’s equitable decisions must be

governed by rules and precedents, it also must be sensitive in

applying those principles to hardships caused by unique and

unforeseen circumstances. As the Supreme Court noted in

Holland v. Florida, 560 U.S. 631, 650 (2010), “courts of equity

can and do draw upon decisions made in similar situations

for guidance. Such courts exercise judgment in light of prior

precedent, but with awareness of the fact that specific circum-

stances, often hard to predict in advance, could warrant spe-

cial treatment in an appropriate case.” In Socha, we stressed

that this approach requires that a district court assess the to-

tality of the circumstances facing the petitioner. 763 F.3d at

26

686.

A petitioner is eligible for equitable tolling only when he

demonstrates that, although he pursued his rights diligently,

some “extraordinary circumstance” prevented his filing in a

timely manner. Id. at 683; see also Holland, 560 U.S. at 649. The

25 Teva Pharms. USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc., 574 U.S. 318, 324 (2015) (“Federal

Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a)(6) states that a court of appeals ‘must not set

aside’ a district court’s ‘findings of fact’ unless they are ‘clearly errone-

ous.’”) (cleaned up).

26 Mr. Famous suggests that the district court did not view the circum-

stances in their totality. See Appellant’s Br. 19. Because, with the exception

of Mr. Famous’s mental condition, the situations at issue here occurred at

different times, the district court necessarily addressed each situation sep-

arately. We do not believe that, on the facts of this case, the district court’s

format evinces any lack of appreciation of the need to view the record as

a totality.

16 No. 19-3227

petitioner has the burden to establish both requirements. So-

cha, 763 F.3d at 683.

In Socha, we held that failure to return a file to a client at

the termination of representation, at least when the client

needed the file for further proceedings, is not the sort of “gar-

den variety” attorney negligence incapable of supporting eq-

uitable tolling. Id. at 686. But when a petitioner entrusts his

court papers to another prisoner, the petitioner continues to

bear the responsibility for any delay in filing. See Paige v.

United States, 171 F.3d 559, 561 (8th Cir. 1999) (“No affirmative

misconduct on the prison’s part lulled [the petitioner] into in-

action.”). Thus, Mr. Famous entrusted the jailhouse lawyer

“with his legal documents at his peril.” United States v. Cicero,

214 F.3d 199, 205 (D.C. Cir. 2000) (finding no equitable tolling

was warranted where the petitioner gave his legal files to a

jailhouse lawyer whose placement in segregation resulted in

the loss of the files).

Like the district court, we assume that equitable tolling

might be available for the period when Mr. Famous alleged

that his appellate attorney had withheld his case file. How-

ever, even indulging in the assumption that Mr. Famous did

not receive his file until June 2005, the record establishes that

he did not proceed with diligence when the file was within

his control. The court reasoned that, at bottom, Mr. Famous

simply had not acted diligently to initiate habeas proceedings

when he did have possession of his file.

Upon receipt of his file, Mr. Famous quickly gave it to a

jailhouse lawyer in July 2005 where it was then confiscated by

prison authorities. While we agree with the district court that

Mr. Famous must bear responsibility for the time the file was

in the hands of the jailhouse lawyer, we need not decide on

No. 19-3227 17

this thin record whether the circumstances justified the State’s

refusal to return the files once they were in the State’s custody

and the State knew that Mr. Famous needed them. See gener-

ally Cicero, 214 F.3d at 204 (noting that the petitioner in that

case had never asked prison officials to return the papers from

which he was separated during a lawful prison transfer). It is

sufficient to say that the district court was correct to hold that,

despite these problematic time periods, Mr. Famous still had

adequate time when he was in control of his file and did not

27

diligently pursue his legal rights.

Finally, Mr. Famous’s contention that his mental illness

should excuse his delay is also insufficient. Mr. Famous in-

vites our attention (as he did the district court’s) to the chronic

mental illness that afflicted him throughout this period and,

indeed, earlier in his life. In the district court, he produced

medical documentation of his illness. The district court exam-

ined this material and Mr. Famous’s claim that he suffers from

“several severe disorders, including delusional disorder, par-

anoid personality disorder, and depressive disorder, that

28

cause [him] to lose touch with reality.” The court concluded

that the records did not support Mr. Famous’s assertion that

his mental illness was sufficient to warrant equitable tolling

during the period when he had control of his files. The court

noted that, although the medical records established that

Mr. Famous had a “long [history] of psychotic symptoms and

delusional beliefs,” it also recites that, in 2009, his thought

27 Following the return of his file from the jailhouse lawyer, Mr. Famous

remained in control of his file from 2007 to 2010 when he filed his federal

petition.

28 R.65 at 7.

18 No. 19-3227

processes were “well-organized” and that his functioning

29

was not “noticeably impaired.”

At one point in its discussion of the psychiatric evidence,

the court recited that one clinician had remarked that Mr. Fa-

mous “himself does not believe he has any type of mental

30

health issue.” Read in context, however, it is clear that the

clinician made this statement to support the view that Mr. Fa-

mous’s failure to recognize his problem contributed to a poor

prognosis for improvement. Non-recognition by the patient is

a factor that makes “delusional disorders refractory to treat-

31

ment.” This subsidiary observation by the court therefore

has no support in the record and is clearly erroneous. But on

examination of the entirety of the district court’s analysis of

the clinician evidence, it is clear that this misstep did not play

a fundamental role in the district court’s assessment of the

record as to undermine its ultimate conclusion that “there

[was] no evidence that [Mr. Famous] was incapable of acting

32

upon his legal rights during the limitations period.” A court

abuses its discretion “when its decision is premised on an in-

correct legal principle or a clearly erroneous factual finding,

or when the record contains no evidence on which the court

rationally could have relied.” Corp. Assets, Inc. v. Paloian,

368 F.3d 761, 767 (7th Cir. 2004). Here, the district court’s de-

cision was not premised on its misunderstanding of Mr.

29 Id. at 8 (alteration in original) (citations omitted).

30 Id. (citing to R.53-1 at 27).

31 R.53-1 at 27.

32 R.65 at 8.

No. 19-3227 19

Famous’s prognosis, nor did it solely rely on its erroneous in-

terpretation of the clinician’s statement. We “can say ‘with

fair assurance’ that the judgment was not ‘substantially

swayed by the error.’” United States v. Robinson, 724 F.3d 878,

888 (7th Cir. 2013) (quoting Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U.S.

750, 765 (1946)). Instead, the district court looked at all of Mr.

Famous’s submitted medical records and properly concluded

that none of them suggested he was incapable of filing a peti-

tion over the more than eight-year time period. Indeed, the

same clinical evaluation that renders the poor prognosis for

delusional disorder also supports the district court’s conclu-

33

sion.

We have examined the medical reports submitted by

Mr. Famous and evaluated by the district court in the course

of making its decision. The determination of the district court

finds significant support in the record. Although the medical

documents do indicate that Mr. Famous suffers from a

chronic mental illness, the district court certainly was entitled

to conclude that his affliction did not impair his ability to file

a petition during the limitations period.

CONCLUSION

The judgment of the district court is affirmed.

AFFIRMED

33 The clinician noted the following about Mr. Famous’s mental status:

“His thought process was well-organized and did not show signs of loose

associations … or derailment that would be characteristic of thought dis-

order/psychosis.” R.53-1 at 26.