Holt v. Brown, et al

Filing 200

ORDER Amending Directive For Petitioner To File Quarterly Status Reports On State Court Proceedings, signed by Chief Judge Anthony W. Ishii on 2/11/2009. (Scrivner, E)

1 2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 8 JOHN LEE HOLT, 9 Petitioner, 10 vs. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 ROBERT WONG, As Acting Warden of San Quentin State Prison,* Respondent. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case No. 1:97-CV-06210-AWI ORDER AMENDING DIRECTIVE FOR PETITIONER TO FILE QUARTERLY STATUS REPORTS ON STATE COURT PROCEEDINGS

This matter is before the Court on the informal request of Petitioner John Lee Holt ("Holt") to amend the directive for him to file quarterly status reports on the pending state habeas corpus petition before the California Supreme Court, and instead, to file a report within 5 days of the California Supreme Court taking any action on the state petition. Respondent Robert Wong, As Acting Warden of San Quentin State Prison (the "Warden") has advised the Court he does not oppose the request. On October 7, 2004 (doc. 104), the Court granted Holt's motion to hold federal proceedings in abeyance during the pendency of his state habeas petition he filed on June 18, 2003 under Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002) (holding execution of a mentally retarded person is a violation of the Eighth Amendment). As part of that order, the Court directed Holt to file quarterly status reports updating the Court on the progress of litigation efforts and court rulings in state court. Although the Court later reinstated federal proceedings on March 4, 2005 (doc. 116), the directive for Holt to continue filing quarterly status reports on the state Atkins petition remained in place. The state Atkins petition remains pending before the California Supreme Court. In June 2008, Holt filed a motion to stay federal proceedings pursuant to Rohan ex rel. Gates v. Woodford, 334 F.3d 803 (9th Cir. 2003) on the grounds that he is not competent to proceed with his
* Robert W o n g is substituted for his predecessor, Robert L. Ayers, Jr., 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

97dp6210.OAmendDirectve4StateCtStatusReports.hlt.wpd

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federal habeas corpus proceeding before this Court. After reviewing the evidence presented by the parties and considering the notice of non-opposition filed by the Warden, the Court granted Holt's motion on November 21, 2008 (doc. 199). In the Gates stay order, the parties were directed to report to the Court every two years about the status of Holt's mental state. The most recent docket entry in the state Atkins petition is a notice of lodging of this Court's November 21, 2008 Gates stay order. The notice of lodging was filed on January 29, 2009. Prior to this notice of lodging, the state court issued an order denying Holt's application to stay state proceedings on the grounds of his current incompetence. That order was issued by the state court on August 10, 2005. No action on the case has been taken by the state court since August 2005. In light of the Court's order staying federal proceedings until Holt regains his competence to proceed with the case, Holt's request to amend the directive updating the Court on the status of the state court proceedings IS GRANTED. Rather than filing quarterly status reports concerning state court proceedings, Holt is directed to file a report within 5 days of any action taken by the California Supreme Court. IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: February 11, 2009 /s/ Anthony W. Ishii Anthony W. Ishii United States District Judge

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