The Supreme Court won't let a man sentenced to prison for murder appeal his conviction despite his complaints that his window for further consideration was unfairly closed.

The high court on Tuesday upheld the ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Rafael Arriaza Gonzalez.

Gonzalez appealed his conviction for murder and his 30-year sentence in 2006 but missed one of the state lower court appeals deadlines. The federal courts since then have refused to hear his appeal, saying he filed in federal court one month after the required one-year deadline.

The courts started counting from the day Gonzalez missed the state court deadline, but the inmate said they should have started counting after the Texas courts officially declared his case over.

The high court said that the lower courts had correctly calculated the deadline for Gonzalez to file. Justice Sonya Sotomayor wrote that Gonzalez's one-year deadline to appeal to the federal court began when he missed the state court filing date. Since Gonzalez filed one month after that one-year cutoff, the judgment against him became final, she said.

The Law Office of James C. Kelly announces that it is investigating potential claims against the board of directors of Inhibitex, Inc. concerning possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law related to the Company's entry into an agreement to be acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company in a transaction with an approximate value of $2.5 billion.

Under the proposed agreement, Bristol-Myers will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Inhibitex's common stock at a price of $26.00 per share in cash. The investigation concerns whether Inhibitex's board of directors adequately shopped the Company to obtain the best price possible for the Company's shareholders before entering into the agreement with Bristol-Myers.

If you are a holder of Inhibitex common stock and want to discuss your legal rights, you may e-mail or call The Law Office of James C. Kelly who will, without obligation or cost to you, attempt to answer your questions.  Please contact James C. Kelly, Esq., of The Law Office of James C. Kelly, 477 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022, by toll free telephone at (888) 643-7517

For more information about the firm, please visit its website at http://www.jckellylaw.com.