Valencia #124129 v. Shinn et al

Filing 22

ORDERED that the petitioner's motion, filed on March 31, 2022, for appointment of counsel pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(a)(2)(B) is DENIED. (Doc. 21 ). Signed by Magistrate Judge Leslie A Bowman on 4/7/22. (MYE)

Download PDF
1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Gregory Nidez Valencia, Jr., Petitioner, vs. David Shinn; et al., Respondents. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) No. CV 21-00335-TUC-RCC (LAB) ORDER Pending before the court is the petitioner’s motion, filed on March 31, 2022, for appointment of counsel pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(a)(2)(B). (Doc. 21) The statute reads in pertinent part as follows: Whenever the United States magistrate judge or the court determines that the interests of justice so require, representation may be provided for any financially eligible person who . . . is seeking relief under section . . . 2254 . . . of title 28. 18 U.S.C.A. § 3006A(a)(2)(B). “In deciding whether to appoint counsel in a habeas proceeding, the district court must evaluate the likelihood of success on the merits as well as the ability of the petitioner to articulate his claims pro se in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved.” Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983). “[A]ppointment of counsel becomes mandatory, when an evidentiary hearing is required. Bashor v. Risley, 730 F.2d 1228, 1234 (9th Cir. 1984). Where, as here, an evidentiary hearing is not required, appointment of counsel is “not mandatory but discretionary.” Id. “In 1995, when Valencia was seventeen, he and an accomplice were attempting to steal a bicycle from a residence when its owner confronted them and Valencia shot and killed him.” 1 State v. Valencia, 2020 WL 4728893, at *1 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2020), review denied (Feb. 2, 2021). 2 Valencia was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to “a natural life sentence of 3 imprisonment.” Id. Some time later, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a natural life sentence 4 for a crime committed by a juvenile may be unconstitutional under certain circumstances. Id. 5 (citing Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012) and Montgomery v. Louisiana, 136 S. Ct. 718 6 (2016)). Valencia subsequently challenged his sentence and was given an evidentiary hearing 7 where he “met his burden of establishing that his crime reflected transient immaturity rather 8 than irreparable corruption.” Id. (punctuation modified) “Valencia was thereafter resentenced 9 to life with the possibility of parole after twenty-five years.” Id. 10 In the pending petition, Valencia claims that his life sentence with the possibility of 11 parole after twenty-five years pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-716 is an unconstitutional ex post facto 12 law. (Doc. 4, p. 6) He further argues that his new sentence violates the Eighth Amendment 13 because A.R.S. § 13-716 “provides no constitutional guidance as to how to determine parole 14 eligibility for juveniles.” (Doc. 4, p. 9) These claims were denied on the merits by the Arizona 15 Court of Appeals. State v. Valencia, 2020 WL 4728893 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2020), review denied 16 (Feb. 2, 2021). The decision was joined by all three members of the panel; there was no dissent. 17 Id. Valencia petitioned the Arizona Supreme Court for review, but that court denied his 18 petition. (Doc. 16, pp. 16-17) To succeed in his pending habeas petition, Valencia must show 19 that prior adjudication of his claims “resulted in a decision that was contrary to or an 20 unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent” or that it “resulted in a decision that was 21 based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the 22 State court proceeding.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). The court concludes that Valencia’s petition is 23 unlikely to succeed on the merits. 24 In the pending motion, Valencia argues that his petition is likely to succeed and cites to 25 Vera v. Ryan, 804 F. App’x 572, 574 (9th Cir. March 4, 2020). (Doc. 4) He refers to a section 26 in the decision where the Vera panel stated that it had some doubts as to whether the evidence 27 presented by the state showed that section 13-716 “as implemented by the Arizona Department 28 of Corrections” was providing an opportunity for the inmate “to obtain parole within the -2- 1 meaning of [the Supreme Court’s decisions in] Miller and Montgomery.” Id. That statement, 2 however, has limited application to the pending action. First, that statement was dicta. Id. 3 Second, Vera is not a published decision. Id. at 572; see CTA9 Rule 36-3. And third, that 4 statement related to a possible “as applied” challenge, whereas Valencia’s claim in the pending 5 petition is not an “as applied” challenge.1 Compare Vera, 804 F. App’x at 574 with (Doc. 4, p. 6 9). Vera does not provide support for Valencia’s argument that his petition is likely to succeed 7 on the merits. 8 The court further finds that Valencia is able to “articulate his claims pro se in light of the 9 complexity of the legal issues involved.” See Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 10 1983). His claims are clearly explained. (Doc. 4) They explicitly track the arguments that were 11 made by counsel in Valencia’s Opening Brief before the Arizona Court of Appeals, which he 12 attached as an exhibit to his petition. (Doc. 4, pp. 31-54) 13 Valencia asserts that he is unable to properly articulate his claims because he only has 14 a General Equivalency Diploma and has no access to a law library. (Doc. 21, pp. 2-3) The 15 court finds to the contrary that, while is his petition was not written by a lawyer, it is much 16 easier to read and understand than most pro se petitions. (Doc. 4) Moreover, Valencia seems 17 to have access to even unpublished Ninth Circuit decisions. It does not appear that his limited 18 access to legal resources is significantly affecting his ability to articulate his claims. The court 19 agrees that the procedural history of this case is long, but the petition presents two discrete legal 20 issues that are relatively limited in scope. 21 Finally, Valencia argues that “counsel can assist Petitioner in reviewing the record for 22 any unreasonable factual determinations that might allow for de novo review under 28 U.S.C. 23 24 25 26 1 Valencia did not raise an “as applied” claim before the Arizona Court of Appeals. (Doc. 16-8, pp. 38-61) Presumably, that is why he has not raised “as applied” claim in the pending petition. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1)(A) (“An application for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court shall not be granted unless it appears that . . . the applicant has exhausted the remedies available in the courts of the State. . . .”). 27 28 -3- 1 § 2254(d)(2).” (Doc. 21, p. 3) It does not appear, however, that this type of review falls under 2 “the interests of justice” rationale. See Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983). 3 Moreover, Valencia’s claims are legal in character, and the decision of the Arizona Court of 4 Appeals below does not appear to be particularly reliant on “factual determinations.” See State 5 v. Valencia, 2020 WL 4728893 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2020), review denied (Feb. 2, 2021). 6 Counsel is not required “in the interests of justice.” See, e.g., Bashor v. Risley, 730 F.2d 7 1228, 1234 (9th Cir. 1984) (The court acted within its discretion when it declined to appoint 8 counsel to a sixty-year-old petitioner who had no background in the law but thoroughly 9 presented his issues.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 838 (1984). Accordingly, 10 11 12 IT IS ORDERED that the petitioner’s motion, filed on March 31, 2022, for appointment of counsel pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(a)(2)(B) is DENIED. (Doc. 21) 13 14 DATED this 7th day of April, 2022. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -4-

Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.


Why Is My Information Online?