Joseph A. Hough v. State of Tennessee

In February 2000, the petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, setting out several claims as to the invalidity of his June 12, 1998, DUI guilty plea in the Greene County General Sessions Court. He had not appealed the plea of guilty but claimed that his post-conviction petition was timely because he had a "mental disability," which tolled the running of the applicable statute of limitations. The post-conviction court concluded that the petition was untimely and dismissed it. Finding that the allegations of "mental disability" are insufficient to toll the statute, we agree that the dismissal of the petition was proper. Further, we find that the notice of appeal was not timely filed.