Why is the time limit for filing a Rule 32 petition so short?

For state prisoners in Alabama, the way to seek postconviction relief is by filing a Rule 32 petition for relief from conviction or sentence. The time limit for filing a Rule 32 petition for postconviction relief in Alabama currently sits at one (1) year after either the certificate of judgment issues from the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals or the expiration of the time to appeal. [1] Many criminal appeals in Alabama seek certiorari review in the Alabama Supreme Court after being denied by the Court of Criminal Appeals; nonetheless, it is the Court of Appeals issuance of the certificate of judgment and not the denial of certiorari by the Supreme Court which triggers the one (1) year timeframe. [2]

At the ground level, state prisoners in the Alabama Department of Corrections (“ADOC”) face significant day-to-day challenges. Human beings face a significantly higher chance of dying when held in ADOC compared to free people in any other state and prisoners in other state prison systems. [3] The likelihood of facing violence is exponentially higher. [4]

Amid this violent hellscape, the law expects ADOC prisoners without the means to hire an attorney to learn and understand Habeas Corpus law within a year of their appeal’s conclusion, write their own motion, and litigate their case against the state. The law does not factor in the complications of institutional lockdowns, inmate law clerk incompetence, limited access to research tools or other factors. Even though “equitable tolling” of the time frame is theoretically authorized as an exception to the one (1) year time limit based on extraordinary circumstances that are beyond a prisoner’s control, [5] a survey of appellate case law only found one instance where equitable tolling was applied and this was a case where the prisoner hired an attorney who promised to timely file a Rule 32 petition and thereafter failed to deliver. [6] Accordingly, the current state of the law offers prisoners no quarter.

So, how did this happen?

The Alabama Constitution authorizes the Supreme Court of Alabama to create rules of procedure in all courts. [7] On March 22, 2002, the Alabama Supreme Court used that power and issued an order shortening the timeframe from two (2) years to one (1) year. [8] The Court’s commentary is silent on the rationale.

It might be tempting to conclude that the Court wanted to bring Alabama state law in conformity with comparable federal law which also has a one (1) year timeframe. [9] However, this conclusion would be short-sighted. Alabama’s federal prisoners who took an appeal actually have more time than its state prisoners because they have the advantage of an additional ninety (90) days added to their one (1) year timeframe. [10]

Is it fair? Is it enough time to learn the law AND survive in a violent death trap? I don’t think so.

Nonetheless, at the moment, these are the timeframes that must be met. You must take your Rule 32 timeframes very seriously. If you or someone you love needs help navigating the complex world of Rule 32 litigation, contact Peter Armstrong, Attorney at Law, for a free consultation.

References:

1.    Alabama Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2(c). https://judicial.alabama.gov/docs/library/rules/cr32_2.pdf

2.    Mims v. State, 650 So. 2d 619, 620-21 (Ala. Crim. App. 1994). (https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/591484d3add7b049344bd18e)

3.    New Research: Homicide Rate in Alabama Prisons Five Times Higher Than State as a Whole, Apr. 1, 2025, available at https://eji.org/news/new-research-homicide-rate-in-alabama-prisons-five-times-higher-than-state-as-a-whole/; Eddie Burkhalter, Death by incarceration is far higher in Alabama than anywhere else in the United States, Nov. 23, 2025, available at https://alabamaappleseed.org/home-page-updates/death-by-incarceration-is-far-higher-in-alabama-than-anywhere-else-in-the-united-states/#:~:text=More%20people%20died%20in%20Alabama,problems%20after%20years%20of%20knowledge.

4.    See, Beth Shelburne, Alabama Prisons Among Deadliest Places On Earth, available at https://www.alabamasmartjustice.org/stories/alabama-prisons-among-deadliest-places-on-earth#:~:text=BY%20BETH%20SHELBURNE%2C%20INVESTIGATIVE%20REPORTER,to%20punish%20victims%20of%20violence, and noting a 2019 rate of assaults per 100,000 people at 7,868.

5.    Ex Parte Ward, 46 So. 3d 898, 901 (Ala. 2010). (https://www.leagle.com/decision/inadvalco110217000003)

6.    Patrick v. State, 91 So. 3d 756 (Ala. Crim. App. 2011). (https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/patrick-v-state-cr091578-891450556)

7.    Article VI, § 150, Alabama Constitution. (https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/constitution?section=150)

8.    Commentary to Alabama Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2. (https://judicial.alabama.gov/docs/library/rules/cr32_2.pdf)

9.    28 U.S.C. § 2255(f). (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/2255)

10. See Kaufmann v. U.S., 282 F.3d 1336, 1337 (11th Cir. 2002) (holding that the one-year time to file a 2255 petition begins to run at the expiration of the ninety-day period to seek certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court). (https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/282/1336/581956/)