San Nicolas v. Ayers

Filing 153

ORDER SETTING Case Management Conference and Initiating Phase III Budget signed by Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone on 8/25/2015. Telephonic Conference set for 9/22/2015 at 10:00 AM in Courtroom 9 (SAB) before Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone. (Sant Agata, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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RODNEY JESSE SAN NICOLAS,

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Case No. 1:06-cv-00942-LJO-SAB

Petitioner,

DEATH PENALTY CASE

v.

ORDER SETTING CASE MANAGEMENT
CONFERENCE AND INITIATING PHASE
III BUDGET

KEVIN CHAPPELL, as Warden of San
Quentin State Prison,

Date: September 22, 2015
Time: 10:00 a.m.
TELEPHONIC

Respondent.

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This matter is before the Court on the parties’ August 21, 2015 joint statement regarding

22 phase III scheduling (ECF No. 152). By this order, the Court sets a telephonic case management
23 conference to establish scheduling and budgeting for phase III.
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I.

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BACKGROUND

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On September 10, 1992, the trial court sentenced Petitioner to death following a jury

27 verdict finding him guilty of two counts of murder, one count of forcible rape, and one count of
28 forcible lewd or lascivious acts upon a child under the age of 14. Petitioner’s conviction and
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1 sentence were affirmed on state direct appeal on December 6, 2004. The Supreme Court denied
2 Petitioner’s writ of certiorari on October 3, 2005. Petitioner’s state petition for writ of habeas
3 corpus in the California Supreme Court was denied on July 12, 2006.
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On February 2, 2007, this Court appointed Wesley A. Van Winkle as counsel to represent

5 Petitioner. On March 30, 2007, the Federal Defender’s Office was appointed co-counsel with
6 Mr. Van Winkle.
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Petitioner filed a protective petition in this Court on July 12, 2007. On January 16, 2008,

8 he filed an amended federal petition. He concurrently filed a three claim addendum petition,
9 which the Court ordered filed under seal, with the only justiciable claim therein being claim 1.
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On March 3, 2008, the Court ordered these proceedings held in abeyance of Petitioner’s

11 state exhaustion petition. On February 11, 2014, the California Supreme Court denied the
12 exhaustion petition.
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On February 20, 2014, the Court ordered Respondent to either identify unexhausted

14 claims or answer the petitions. Respondent filed a motion to dismiss as unexhausted sealed
15 claim 1, which the Court denied on October 23, 2014.
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On February 6, 2015, the Court ordered Respondent to answer the unsealed and sealed

17 petitions, and ordered the parties to meet and confer and file a joint statement regarding
18 transition to phase III.
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Respondent answered the unsealed petition on July 22, 2015. He answered the sealed

20 petition on July 30, 2015.
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The parties filed their noted joint statement on August 21, 2015.

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II.

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DISCUSSION

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The parties’ joint statement suggests that Respondent does not intend to file any amended

25 answer; that all claims have been exhausted; and that no procedural or limitations issues require
26 discussion prior to moving this case to phase III.
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Additionally, the parties’ joint statement proposes a schedule for phase III merits briefing

28 of the thirty-eight (38) claims in the amended petition and claim 1 in the sealed petition.
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The Court will conduct a phase III case management conference to address these and

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2 other issues.

The parties should be prepared to address the facts underlying their current

3 scheduling assumptions and options for expediting phase III briefing. The merits of all claims
4 will be addressed prior to procedural defenses and defenses under Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288
5 (1989).
In addition, Petitioner, through counsel, shall file under seal a proposed phase III budget

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7 by not later than September 15, 2015.
At the conclusion of the case management conference, Respondent’s counsel will be

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9 excused and the conference will continue ex parte with counsel for Petitioner present to discuss
10 budgeting issues.
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III.

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ORDER
Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that a telephonic case management conference

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14 to establish scheduling and budgeting for phase III is set for September 22, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. in
15 Courtroom 9 before the undersigned. The attorneys are directed to contact the Court’s
16 Courtroom Deputy Clerk, Mamie Hernandez, to obtain the teleconference code.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.

20 Dated:

August 25, 2015
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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