Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Maryland

Re: time limit to file federal appeal

Federal appellate courts do not have jurisdiction to hear appeals from state courts.

Habeas corpus petitions are the only way to seek federal court review of a state court decision, but this option is only available in criminal cases. Habeas is not the same thing as an appeal, and you can't present a habeas petition to a federal appellate court until you have first gone through the federal trial court (more properly known as the district court). Further, a habeas petitioner must first present his case to the state supreme court where he was convicted. He can't go to federal court directly from the state appeal court as you suggest unless you mistakenly used the term "appeal court" to describe the state supreme court.

Note for other users: In New York, the courts are named differently from the courts of other states. The name "Supreme Court" in New York refers to the trial court. New York's highest court -- the counterpart of the supreme courts in other states -- is called the Court of Appeal. It is thus possible in New York to go directly from the Court of Appeal to the federal district court on a habeas corpus petition.