Howard v. Woodford, et al

Filing 157

ORDER DISMISSING ACTION signed by District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on 1/20/2010. CASE CLOSED. (Jessen, A)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

ALBERT CECIL HOWARD,

) ) Petitioner, ) ) vs. ) ) ROBERT K. WONG, as Acting Warden of ) San Quentin State Prison,* ) ) Respondent ) )

Case No. 1:93-cv-05726-LJO DEATH PENALTY CASE ORDER DISMISSING ACTION

Petitioner Albert Cecil Howard ("Howard") commenced this action on October 25, 1993 by filing a combined application for appointment of counsel and request for a stay of execution of his death sentence. Through counsel, he timely filed a petition in this Court on March 14, 1997 containing exhausted and unexhausted claims (doc. 79) (the "federal petition"). As part of his prayer for relief, he requested the Court to hold federal proceedings in abeyance to permit exhaustion of his state remedies before the California Supreme Court. On April 23, 1997, Howard filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the California Supreme Court (the "state petition"). Over the objection of Respondent Robert K. Wong, as Acting Warden of San Quentin State Prison (the "Warden"), the Court entered an order holding federal proceedings in abeyance on May 30, 1997 (doc. 89). On November 1, 2005, Howard reported to the Court his expectation that the California Supreme Court would soon issue an order on the state petition (see doc. 132), and accordingly, he filed his amended federal petition on November 1, 2005 (doc. 133) (the "amended federal petition"). From March 1, 2006, forward, Howard filed quarterly

* Robert K. W o n g is substituted for his predecessors, Eddie Ylst, as Acting W a r d e n of San Quentin State Prison p u r s u a n t to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d). 1

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status reports outlining the progress of state exhaustion proceedings before the California Supreme Court. His final status report was filed on June 2, 2009 (doc. 155). On January 19, 2010, Howard's appointed attorney filed a notice that Howard died on August 12, 2009 (doc. 156). The delay in filing this notice arose because of errors contained in the Marin County death certificate and efforts to get that certificate corrected. In light of Howard's death, this federal habeas corpus action IS DISMISSED. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment forthwith.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATE:

January 20, 2010 /s/ Lawrence J. O'Neill Lawrence J. O'Neill United States District Judge

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