Charles Simpson v. The Director of the CDCR

Filing 3

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER DISMISSING PETITION WITHOUT PREJUDICE AND WITH LEAVE TO AMEND by Magistrate Judge Andrew J. Wistrich, re Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (2254) 1 . The petition is dismissed without prejudice and with leave to amend. Petitioner shall, within 28 days of the date of this order, file an amended petition curing the deficiencies noted. (Attachments: # 1 petition CV 69) (yb)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

10
11

WESTERN DIVISION
CHARLES SIMPSON,

12

Petitioner,

13
14

v.
THE DIRECTOR OF THE CDCR,

15

Respondent.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Case No. CV 14-9080-ODW(AJW)
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
DISMISSING PETITION
WITHOUT PREJUDICE AND
WITH LEAVE TO AMEND

16
17

On November 24, 2014, petitioner filed this petition for a writ

18

of

habeas

corpus.

In

its

entirety,

the

petition

states,

“I’m

19

requesting for injunctive relief to have the Director of the CDCR to

20

[sic] reverse my conviction and give me $950 million dollars.”

21

[Petition at 1]. For the following reasons, the petition is subject to

22

summary dismissal.

23

To the extent that petitioner seeks to challenge the validity of

24

his conviction, he fails to provide any information regarding the

25

conviction he seeks to challenge.

26

indicate the date of his conviction, the court in which it occurred,

27

the crimes of which he was convicted, or the sentence imposed.

28

Moreover, he does not state any claims for relief – that is, he

For example, petitioner does not

1

provides no legal or factual basis for any such challenge.

At best,

2

petitioner’s allegations are vague and conclusory.

3

petition fails to indicate whether petitioner exhausted any claims for

4

relief by presenting them to the California Supreme Court.

5

U.S.C. §2254(b)(1)(A) (“An application for a writ of habeas corpus on

6

behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State

7

court shall not be granted unless it appears that the applicant has

8

exhausted the remedies available in the courts of the State.”).

In addition, the

See 28

9

Furthermore, monetary damages are not available in a federal

10

habeas corpus proceeding. Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 554

11

(1974); Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 494 (1973).1

12

Based upon the foregoing deficiencies, the petition is dismissed

13

without prejudice and with leave to amend.

Petitioner shall, within

14

twenty-eight (28) days of the date of this order, file an amended

15

petition curing the deficiencies noted above.

16

shall be filed on the forms provided by the Clerk and shall bear the

17

case number CV 14-9080-ODW(AJW), shall include information regarding

18

the conviction or decision petitioner intends to challenge, shall

19

provide the specific legal and factual basis for his claims for

20

relief, and shall indicate whether petitioner has presented each claim

The amended petition

21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

1
Petitioner may have intended to file a civil rights action. While a
federal court has discretion to recharacterize a mislabeled habeas corpus
petition as a civil rights action and to permit the action to proceed as
such, ordinarily such a recharacterization is inappropriate. Because of
the filing fee requirements of the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995
(“PLRA”), its provisions requiring sua sponte review of complaints, and
its limits on the number of actions a prisoner may be permitted to file
in forma pauperis, a prisoner should not be obligated to proceed with a
civil rights action unless it is clear that he or she wishes to do so.
See 28 U.S.C. § 1915; 42 U.S.C. § 1997e; see generally Robinson v.
Sherrod, 631 F.3d 839, 841 (7th Cir.)(“[W]e think it worth reminding the
district courts not to recharacterize a prisoner’s petition for habeas
corpus as a prisoner civil rights complaint without his informed
consent....”)(citations omitted), cert. denied, 132 S.Ct. 397 (2011).

2

1

to the California Supreme Court.

2

Petitioner is cautioned that failure to file an amended petition

3

within the time provided may result in dismissal of this petition

4

without prejudice.

5

It is so ordered.

6
7

Dated: December 3, 2014

8
Andrew J. Wistrich
United States Magistrate Judge

9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
3