Opinion
1:07-CV-00767 AWI DLB HC.
July 21, 2007
ORDER DISMISSING PETITION WITH LEAVE TO AMEND [Doc. 1] ORDER DIRECTING CLERK OF COURT TO SEND PETITIONER A BLANK HABEAS PETITION
Petitioner is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254.
On May 25, 2007, Petitioner, along with Robert Ellis, filed the instant petition for writ of habeas corpus.
DISCUSSION
A. Procedural Grounds for Summary Dismissal
Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases provides in pertinent part:
If it plainly appears from the petition and any attached exhibits that the petitioner is not entitled to relief in the district court, the judge must dismiss the petition and direct the clerk to notify the petitioner.
The Advisory Committee Notes to Rule 8 indicate that the court may dismiss a petition for writ of habeas corpus, either on its own motion under Rule 4, pursuant to the respondent's motion to dismiss, or after an answer to the petition has been filed. A petition for habeas corpus should not be dismissed without leave to amend unless it appears that no tenable claim for relief can be pleaded were such leave granted. Jarvis v. Nelson, 440 F.2d 13, 14 (9th Cir. 1971).
B. Multiple Petitioners
The instant petition lists Robert Ellis and Eric Watkins as Petitioners. However, only one individual may file a petition for writ of habeas corpus. Thus, if both seek relief by way of section 2254 petition, each must file an individual petition. The Court cannot proceed with a petition which contains two named petitioners. As explained below, neither petitioner signed the petition. However, petitioner, Eric Watkins, signed the motion to proceed in forma pauperis, therefore, this action shall proceed with him as Petitioner. Petitioner, Robert Ellis, will be dismissed from the action, and if desired, he may re-file a new § 2254 petition.
C. Failure to State a Claim
The basic scope of habeas corpus is prescribed by statute. Subsection (c) of Section 2241 of Title 28 of the United States Code provides that habeas corpus shall not extend to a prisoner unless he is "in custody in violation of the Constitution." 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a) states:
The Supreme Court, a Justice thereof, a circuit judge, or a district court shall entertain an application for a writ of habeas corpus in behalf of a person in custody pursuant to a judgment of a State court only on the ground that he is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.
(emphasis added). See also, Rule 1 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Court. The Supreme Court has held that "the essence of habeas corpus is an attack by a person in custody upon the legality of that custody . . ."Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 484 (1973).
Furthermore, in order to succeed in a petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, Petitioner must demonstrate that the adjudication of his claim in state court
resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States; or resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceedings.28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1), (2).
In addition, Petitioner must state his claim with sufficient specificity. See Hendricks v. Vasquez, 908 F.2d 490, 491-92 (9th Cir. 1990); Wacht v. Cardwell, 604 F.2d 1245, 1246-47 (9th Cir. 1979). Rule 2(c) of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases states:
The petition must:
(1) specify all the grounds for relief available to the petitioner;
(2) state the facts supporting each ground;
(3) state the relief requested;
(4) be printed, typewritten, or legibly handwritten; and
(5) be signed under penalty of perjury by the petitioner or by a person authorized to sign it for the petitioner under 28 U.S.C. § 2242.
The instant petition is completely deficient. The only information provided on the petition is that Petitioner is challenging a sentence, he has previously challenged his conviction, and he testified at trial. Petitioner did not fill out the form petition and listed no grounds for relief or any facts to support such grounds. Nor does Petitioner state the relief he requests. Petitioner also fails to provide the details of his conviction such as the date.
In addition, Petitioner does not allege a violation of the Constitution or federal law, nor does he argue that he is in custody in violation of the Constitution or federal law. Petitioner does not allege that the adjudication of his claims in state court "resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, . . . or resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts. . . ." 28 U.S.C. § 2254.
Therefore, the petition must be dismissed; however, Petitioner will be given an opportunity to file an amended petition. Petitioner is advised that failure to file a complete petition raising cognizable federal claims within the time allotted will result in a recommendation that the petition be dismissed and the action be terminated. Petitioner is advised that the amended petition should be titled "First Amended Petition, and reference the instant case number."
D. Failure to Exhaust State Remedies
A petitioner who is in state custody and wishes to collaterally challenge his conviction by a petition for writ of habeas corpus must exhaust state judicial remedies. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1). The exhaustion doctrine is based on comity to the state court and gives the state court the initial opportunity to correct the state's alleged constitutional deprivations. Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 731, 111 S.Ct. 2546, 2554-55 (1991); Rose v. Lundy, 455 U.S. 509, 518, 102 S.Ct. 1198, 1203 (1982); Buffalo v. Sunn, 854 F.2d 1158, 1163 (9th Cir. 1988).
A petitioner can satisfy the exhaustion requirement by providing the highest state court with a full and fair opportunity to consider each claim before presenting it to the federal court. Picard v. Connor, 404 U.S. 270, 276, 92 S.Ct. 509, 512 (1971); Johnson v. Zenon, 88 F.3d 828, 829 (9th Cir. 1996). A federal court will find that the highest state court was given a full and fair opportunity to hear a claim if the petitioner has presented the highest state court with the claim's factual and legal basis. Duncan v. Henry, 513 U.S. 364, 365, 115 S.Ct. 887, 888 (1995) (legal basis); Kenney v. Tamayo-Reyes, 504 U.S. 1, 112 S.Ct. 1715, 1719 (1992) (factual basis). Additionally, the petitioner must have specifically told the state court that he was raising a federal constitutional claim. Duncan, 513 U.S. at 365-66, 115 S.Ct. at 888; Keating v. Hood, 133 F.3d 1240, 1241 (9th Cir. 1998). For example, if a petitioner wishes to claim that the trial court violated his due process rights "he must say so, not only in federal court but in state court." Duncan, 513 U.S. at 366, 115 S.Ct. at 888.
Additionally, the petitioner must have specifically told the state court that he was raising a federal constitutional claim.Duncan, 513 U.S. at 365-66; Lyons v. Crawford, 232 F.3d 666, 669 (9th Cir. 2000), amended, 247 F.3d 904 (2001); Hiivala v. Wood, 195 F.3d 1098, 1106 (9th Cir. 1999); Keating v. Hood, 133 F.3d 1240, 1241 (9th Cir. 1998). In Duncan, the United States Supreme Court reiterated the rule as follows:
In Picard v. Connor, 404 U.S. 270, 275 . . . (1971), we said that exhaustion of state remedies requires that petitioners "fairly presen[t]" federal claims to the state courts in order to give the State the "`opportunity to pass upon and correct alleged violations of the prisoners' federal rights" (some internal quotation marks omitted). If state courts are to be given the opportunity to correct alleged violations of prisoners' federal rights, they must surely be alerted to the fact that the prisoners are asserting claims under the United States Constitution. If a habeas petitioner wishes to claim that an evidentiary ruling at a state court trial denied him the due process of law guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, he must say so, not only in federal court, but in state court.Duncan, 513 U.S. at 365-366. The Ninth Circuit examined the rule further, stating:
Our rule is that a state prisoner has not "fairly presented" (and thus exhausted) his federal claims in state court unless he specifically indicated to that court that those claims were based on federal law. See Shumway v. Payne, 223 F.3d 982, 987-88 (9th Cir. 2000). Since the Supreme Court's decision in Duncan, this court has held that the petitioner must make the federal basis of the claim explicit either by citing federal law or the decisions of federal courts, even if the federal basis is "self-evident," Gatlin v. Madding, 189 F.3d 882, 889 (9th Cir. 1999) (citing Anderson v. Harless, 459 U.S. 4, 7 . . . (1982), or the underlying claim would be decided under state law on the same considerations that would control resolution of the claim on federal grounds. Hiivala v. Wood, 195 F3d 1098, 1106-07 (9th Cir. 1999); Johnson v. Zenon, 88 F.3d 828, 830-31 (9th Cir. 1996);. . . .
In Johnson, we explained that the petitioner must alert the state court to the fact that the relevant claim is a federal one without regard to how similar the state and federal standards for reviewing the claim may be or how obvious the violation of federal law is.Lyons v. Crawford, 232 F.3d 666, 668-669 (9th Cir. 2000) (italics added).
In this case, Petitioner fails to state that he has sought relief in the California Supreme Court. Assuming he has not done so, the instant petition is unexhausted and must be dismissed.
E. Signature Under Penalty of Perjury
Petitioner did not sign the petition. Local Rule 7-131 requires a document submitted to the Court for filing to include an original signature. In addition, Rule 2 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases requires a petition for writ of habeas corpus to "be signed under penalty of perjury by the petitioner." Rule 2(c), Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases. Accordingly, Petitioner must sign the petition under penalty of perjury.
ORDER
Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. The petition for writ of habeas corpus is DISMISSED;
2. Petitioner, Robert Ellis, is DISMISSED from the action;
3. Petitioner is granted thirty (30) days from the date of service of this order to file an amended petition in compliance with this order; and
4. The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to send Petitioner a blank § 2254 petition.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
PETITION UNDER 28 USC § 2254 FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS BY A PERSON IN STATE CUSTODY
(If petitioner is attacking a judgment which imposed a sentence to be served in the future, petitioner must fill in the name of the state where the judgment was entered. If petitioner has a sentence to be served in the future under a federal judgment which he wishes to attack, he should file a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, in the federal court which entered the judgment.)PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS BY A PERSON IN STATE CUSTODY Instructions-Read Carefully
brief in forma pauperis in forma pauperis
(1) This petition must be legibly handwritten or typewritten, and signed by the petitioner under penalty of perjury. Any false statement of a material fact may serve as the basis for prosecution and conviction for perjury. All questions must be answered concisely in the proper space on the form. (2) If you have more than 4 grounds for relief, you may attach pages with the remaining grounds; however, the format of the attached pages must be the same as the petition and you must provide only a statement of facts. No citation to legal authority is required. A brief or memorandum in support of the petition may also be attached; however, the form petition must be complete in itself and may not simply refer to the attachments. (3) Upon receipt of a fee of $5 your petition will be filed if it is in proper order. (4) If you do not have the necessary funds for transcripts, counsel, appeal and other costs connected with a petition of this type, you may request permission to proceed , in which event you must execute form AO-240 or other form required by the court, setting forth information establishing your inability to pay the costs. If you wish to proceed , you must have an authorized officer at the penal institution complete the certificate as to the amount of money and securities on deposit to your credit in any account in the institution. (5) Only judgments entered by one court may be challenged in a single petition. If you seek to challenge judgments entered by different courts either in the same state of in different states, you must file separate petitions as to each court. (6) You must include all grounds for relief and all facts supporting such grounds for relief in the petition you file seeking relief from any judgment of conviction. (7) When the petition is fully completed, the original and at least two copies must be mailed to the Clerk of the United States District Court whose address is Clerk, U.S. District Court 2500 Tulare Street, Suite 1501 Fresno, California 93721 (8) Petitions which do not conform to these instructions will be returned with a notation as to the deficiency. United States District Court PETITION not concisely briefly facts facts CAUTION: In order to proceed in the federal court, you must ordinarily first exhaust your available state court remedies as to each ground on which you request action by the federal court. If you fail to set forth all grounds in this petition, you may be barred from presenting additional grounds at a later date. you should raise in this petition all available grounds briefly briefly briefly briefly briefly District Name Prisoner No. Case No. Place of Confinement Name of Petitioner (include name under which convicted) Name of Respondent (authorized person having custody of petitioner) V. The Attorney General of the State of: 1. Name and location of court which entered the judgment of conviction under attack ____________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Date of judgment of conviction ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Length of sentence __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Nature of offense involved (all counts) _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. What was your plea? (Check one) (a) Not guilty (b) Guilty (c) Nolo contendere If you entered a guilty plea to one count or indictment, and a not guilty plea to another count or indictment, give details: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. If you pleaded not guilty, what kind of trial did you have? (Check one) (a) Jury (b) Judge only 7. Did you testify at the trial? Yes No 8. Did you appeal from the judgment of conviction? Yes No 9. If you did appeal, answer the following: (a) Name of court ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (b) Result __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) Date of result and citation, if known ___________________________________________________________________________________ (d) Grounds raised __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (e) If you sought further review of the decision on appeal by a higher state court, please answer the following: (1) Name of court _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ (2) Result ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (3) Date of result and citation, if known _______________________________________________________________________________ (4) Grounds raised ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (f) If you filed a petition for certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, please answer the following with respect to each direct appeal: (1) Name of court _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ (2) Result ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (3) Date of result and citation, if known _______________________________________________________________________________ (4) Grounds raised ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Other than a direct appeal from the judgment of conviction and sentence, have you previously filed any petitions, applications, or motions with respect to this judgment in any court, state or federal? Yes No 11. If your answer to 10 was "yes," give the following information: (a) (1) Name of court ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ (2) Nature of proceeding _______________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (3) Grounds raised _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (4) Did you receive an evidentiary hearing on your petition, application or motion? Yes No (5) Result _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (6) Date of result _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ (b) As to any second petition, application or motion give the same information: (1) Name of court ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ (2) Name of proceeding _________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (3) Grounds raised _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (4) Did you receive an evidentiary hearing on your petition, application or motion? Yes No (5) Result _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (6) Date of result _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) Did you appeal to the highest state court having jurisdiction the result of action taken on any petition, application or motion? (1) First petition, etc. Yes No (2) Second petition, etc. Yes No (d) If you did appeal from the adverse action on any petition, application or motion, explain briefly why you did not: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12. State every ground on which you claim that you are being held unlawfully. Summarize the supporting each ground. If necessary, you may attach pages stating additional grounds and supporting same. For your information, the following is a list of the most frequently raised grounds for relief in habeas corpus proceedings. Each statement preceded by a letter constitutes a separate ground for possible relief. You may raise any grounds which you may have other than those listed if you have exhausted your state court remedies with respect to them. However, (relating to this conviction) on which you base your allegations that you are being held in custody unlawfully. Do not check any of these listed grounds. If you select one or more of these grounds for relief, you must allege facts. The petition will be returned to you if you merely check (a) through (j) or any one of these grounds. (a) Conviction obtained by plea of guilty which was unlawfully induced or not made voluntarily with understanding of the nature of the charge and the consequences of the plea. (b) Conviction obtained by use of coerced confession. (c) Conviction obtained by use of evidence gained pursuant to an unconstitutional search and seizure. (d) Conviction obtained by use of evidence obtained pursuant to an unlawful arrest. (e) Conviction obtained by a violation of the privilege against self-incrimination. (f) Conviction obtained by the unconstitutional failure of the prosecution to disclose to the defendant evidence favorable to the defendant. (g) Conviction obtained by a violation of the protection against double jeopardy. (h) Conviction obtained by action of a grand or petit jury which was unconstitutionally selected and impaneled. (i) Denial of effective assistance of counsel. (j) Denial of right of appeal. A. Ground one: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Supporting FACTS (state without citing cases or law): ______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ B. Ground two: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Supporting FACTS (state without citing cases or law): ______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ C. Ground three: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Supporting FACTS (state without citing cases or law): ______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ D. Ground four: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Supporting FACTS (state without citing cases or law): ______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 13. If any of the grounds listed in 12A, B, C, and D were not previously presented in any other court, state or federal, state what grounds were not so presented, and give your reasons for not presenting them: __________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 14. Do you have any petition or appeal now pending in any court, either state or federal, as to the judgment under attack? Yes No 15. Give the name and address, if known, of each attorney who represented you in the following stages of the judgment attacked herein: (a) At preliminary hearing _________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (b) At arraignment and plea _______________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) At trial _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (d) At sentencing __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (e) On appeal ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (f) In any post-conviction proceeding ______________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (g) On appeal from any adverse ruling in a post-conviction proceeding ______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 16. Were you sentenced on more than one count of an indictment, or on more than one indictment, in the same court and at the same time? Yes No 17. Do you have any future sentence to serve after you complete the sentence imposed by the judgment under attack? Yes No (a) If so, give name and location of court which imposed sentence to be served in the future: ______________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (b) Give date and length of the above sentence: ____________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) Have you filed, or do you contemplate filing, any petition attacking the judgment which imposed the sentence to be served in the future? Yes No Wherefore, petitioner prays that the Court grant petitioner relief to which he may be entitled in this proceeding. __________________________________________________ Signature of Attorney (if any) I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on _________________________________ Date __________________________________________________ Signature of Petitioner