UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT CHANCE BLACKMAN, No. 23-55340

Petitioner-Appellant, D.C. No. 2:21-cv-02739- v. MEMF-JPR THERESA CISNEROS, OPINION Respondent-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted September 11, 2024 Pasadena, California

Filed November 29, 2024

Before: Sandra S. Ikuta, Michelle T. Friedland, and Kenneth K. Lee, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Ikuta 2 BLACKMAN V. CISNEROS

SUMMARY*

Habeas Corpus

The panel affirmed the district court’s judgment dismissing a federal habeas petition filed by state prisoner Chance Blackman more than a year after the federal statute of limitations had run. Blackman claimed he is entitled to equitable tolling of the limitations period because he was subject to severe mental and physical impairments that rendered him unable to file a timely federal habeas petition. The panel held that because Blackman was able to use the assistance available to him in prison to file multiple cogent state habeas petitions both before and after the federal deadline had run, Blackman did not carry his burden of establishing the second prong of the test set forth in Bills v. Clark, 628 F.3d 1092 (9th Cir. 2010)—namely, that any impairment or combination of impairments was a but-for cause of any delay. The panel wrote that no further factual development requiring remand is necessary. Because Blackman did not satisfy the second prong of Bills, the panel did not need to reach the first prong (inability rationally or factually to personally understand the need to timely file, or a mental state that rendered the petitioner unable personally to prepare a habeas petition and effectuate its filing). Because Blackman is not entitled to equitable tolling, the panel did not reach his statutory tolling argument, * This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader. BLACKMAN V. CISNEROS 3

since his federal habeas petition would have been untimely even with the statutory tolling he argues he is entitled to.

COUNSEL Kameron Johnston (argued), Deputy Federal Public Defender; Lauren Collins, Assistant Federal Public Defenders; Cuauhtemoc Ortega, Federal Public Defender; Federal Public Defender’s Office, Los Angeles, California; for Petitioner-Appellant. Christopher G. Sanchez (argued), Deputy Attorney General; Kenneth C. Byrne, Supervising Deputy Attorney General; Susan S. Pithey, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General; Rob Bonta, California Attorney General; Office of the California Attorney General, Los Angeles, California; for Respondent- Appellee.

OPINION IKUTA, Circuit Judge:

Chance Blackman, a state prisoner, filed his federal habeas petition more than a year after the federal statute of limitations had run. On appeal, he claims he is entitled to equitable tolling of the limitations period because he was subject to severe mental and physical impairments that rendered him unable to file a timely federal habeas petition. Because Blackman had access to legal assistance and filed multiple state habeas petitions both before and after the federal deadline had run, we agree with the district court that 4 BLACKMAN V. CISNEROS

Blackman has not met the conditions justifying equitable tolling. I A state prisoner