Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court says a convicted criminal’s decision to ask for leniency can be used to delay the deadline inmates have to appeal to the federal courts.
The high court on Monday ruled for Khalil Kholi, who wants to appeal his 1993 conviction for sexual assault against two girls.
In 1996, Kholi’s request for a sentence reduction in Rhode Island courts was denied. After his state appeals were finished, he appealed to federal court in 2007. A federal judge threw out his appeal, saying the deadline had passed because the request for sentence reduction cannot be used to ask for an extension.
But a federal appeals court overturned that ruling, saying a leniency request can be used to extend the deadline for a federal appeal.
The high court agreed.