Apelt, et al v. Ryan, et al

Filing 214

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE - that no later than fifteen (15) days after the filing date of this Order, Petitioner shall show cause in writing why the stay of his sentencing claims should not be lifted, the claims dismissed as moot, and judgment entered. Unl ess otherwise directed by the Court, Respondents shall not file a response. The Clerk of Court shall update the title of this case to reflect the substitution of Charles L. Ryan as the Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections. Signed by Chief Judge Roslyn O Silver on 5/20/11. (DMT)

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1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 9 Rudi Alfred Apelt, Petitioner, 10 11 vs. 12 Charles L. Ryan, et al.,1 Respondents. 13 14 15 16 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) No. CV-97-01249-PHX-ROS ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE For the reasons that follow, the Court orders Petitioner to show cause why the stay of his sentencing claims should not be lifted, the claims dismissed, and judgment entered. 17 In 1997, Petitioner initiated this habeas proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The next 18 year he filed an amended habeas petition raising twenty-three claims challenging his state 19 court conviction and capital sentence. (Doc. 39.) In 2000, the Court determined the 20 procedural status of Petitioner’s claims, concluding that some were procedurally barred and 21 some entitled to merits review. (Doc. 71.) In 2002, following the Supreme Court’s decision 22 in Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002), this Court stayed Petitioner’s sentencing-related 23 claims pending successive state post-conviction proceedings based on Petitioner’s alleged 24 mental retardation and ineligibility for the death penalty. (Docs. 147, 149, 151.) While state 25 proceedings were ongoing, the Court ruled on Petitioner’s conviction-related claims, 26 concluding that he was not entitled to habeas relief. (Doc. 190.) 27 28 1 Charles L. Ryan is the Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections. He is being substituted as the Respondent pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d)(1). 1 Subsequently, the state court determined that Petitioner was mentally retarded, vacated 2 his death sentence, and resentenced him to life imprisonment, thus rendering moot 3 Petitioner’s pending sentencing-related habeas claims. Petitioner appealed his resentencing, 4 but it was affirmed. State v. Apelt, No. 2 CA-CR-2009-0256, 2010 WL 3528887 at *1 (Ariz. 5 App. Div. 2, Sept. 10, 2010). According to Petitioner’s April 2011 status report, the state 6 appellate court issued its mandate on January 10, 2011. (Doc. 213.) Under Rule 32.4(a) of 7 the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure, Petitioner had thirty days from the issuance of the 8 mandate to file a notice for post-conviction relief. It thus appears, based on the lack of 9 reference to any impending state post-conviction proceedings in the April status report, that 10 state court proceedings are concluded. 11 Even if state proceedings relating to Petitioner’s resentencing were still ongoing, the 12 Court can discern no basis for maintaining the stay in this case or further postponing issuance 13 of judgment. As already noted, the Court has ruled on all of Petitioner’s conviction-related 14 claims and his original sentencing claims became moot when the state court vacated his 15 capital sentence. Moreover, pursuant to the Supreme Court’s decision in Magwood v. 16 Patterson, 130 S. Ct. 2788 (2010), Petitioner is not precluded from challenging his 17 resentencing in a new habeas petition. 18 Accordingly, 19 IT IS ORDERED that no later than fifteen (15) days after the filing date of this Order, 20 Petitioner shall show cause in writing why the stay of his sentencing claims should not be 21 lifted, the claims dismissed as moot, and judgment entered. Unless otherwise directed by the 22 Court, Respondents shall not file a response. 23 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall update the title of this case 24 to reflect the substitution of Charles L. Ryan as the Director of the Arizona Department of 25 Corrections. 26 DATED this 20th day of May, 2011. 27 28 -2-

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