Prisoner prevails in Seventh Circuit habeas appeal

Client(s) Perry, DeWayne

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit appointed Jones Day associate Stephen Petrany to represent an Indiana prisoner whose federal habeas corpus petition was dismissed as untimely. The district court had held that the prisoner's stroke-induced aphasia was not an "external obstacle" that could support equitable tolling of the filing deadline. After briefing and oral argument, the Seventh Circuit panel issued a unanimous published decision adopting Jones Day's argument that mental limitations like aphasia can constitute "external obstacles" that support equitable tolling, and the court accordingly vacated and remanded to the district court.

DeWayne Perry v. Richard Brown, No. 19-1683 (7th Cir.)