Shine v. Soto

Filing 23

ORDER DENYING 21 Petitioner's Motion for Stay of Proceedings signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 10/16/2014. (Jessen, A)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SHANNON DION SHINE,

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Petitioner,
v.
J. SOTO, Warden,
Respondent.

) Case No.: 1:14-cv-00021-JLT
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) ORDER DENYING PETITIONER’S MOTION
) FOR STAY OF PROCEEDINGS (Doc. 21)
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Petitioner is a state prisoner proceeding in propria persona with a petition for writ of habeas

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corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Both parties have filed their written consent to the jurisdiction

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of the Magistrate Judge for all purposes. (Docs. 8 & 12).

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PROCEDURAL HISTORY
The instant petition was filed on January 6, 2014. (Doc. 1). On March 7, 2014, the Answer

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was filed. (Doc. 9). On March 24, 2014, Petitioner filed a motion to stay proceedings in order to

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address the “mixed petition.” (Doc. 15). On April 21, 2014, Petitioner filed a slightly more detailed

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motion for stay, indicating that he wished to exhaust the unexhausted claims in the petition and that he

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had failed to do so earlier because of his lack of knowledge of the legal system. (Doc. 17). On

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September 24, 2014, Petitioner filed a “motion to proceed,” which the Court construes as yet another

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motion for stay of proceedings. (Doc. 18). That motion contained no new details.

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On September 30, 2014, the Court issued an order denying all of Petitioner’s motions on the

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grounds that he had failed to articulate specifically the grounds of the claims he wished to exhaust.

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(Doc. 19). In that order, the Court pointed out that it appeared that Petitioner may be seeking to

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exhaust claims in the petition related to ineffective assistance of counsel. However, based on the lack

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of specificity in the various motions for stay, the Court could not be sure of the basis for the claims for

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which he sought a stay. On October 9, 2014, Petitioner filed yet another motion for stay, this time

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indicated clearly that he wishes to exhaust the claims relating to counsel’s alleged ineffectiveness.

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(Doc. 21). For the following reasons, the Court will deny the motion for stay.
DISCUSSION

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Traditionally, a district court has had the discretion to stay a petition which it may validly

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consider on the merits. Calderon v. United States Dist. Court (Taylor), 134 F.3d 981, 987-988 (9th Cir.

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1998); Greenawalt v. Stewar7, 105 F.3d 1268, 1274 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 1002 (1997).

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However, the Ninth Circuit has held that Taylor in no way granted “district courts carte blanche to stay

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even fully exhausted habeas petitions.” Taylor, 134 F.3d at 988 n. 11. Granting a stay is appropriate

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where there is no intention on the part of the Petitioner to delay or harass and in order to avoid

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piecemeal litigation. Id. In addition, the Ninth Circuit has indicated that it is proper for a district

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court, in its discretion, to hold a petition containing only exhausted claims in abeyance in order to

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permit the petitioner to return to state court to exhaust his state remedies. Kelly v. Small, 315 F.3d

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1063, 1070 (9th Cir. 2004); Ford v. Hubbard, 305 F.3d 875, 882-883 (9th Cir. 2002); James v. Pliler,

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269 F.3d 1124, 1126-1127 (9th Cir. 2002); Taylor, 134 F.3d 981.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, until recently, federal case law continued to require that the

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Court dismiss “mixed” petitions containing both exhausted and unexhausted claims. Rose v. Lundy,

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455 U.S. 509 (1982). However, in 2005 the United States Supreme Court decided Rhines v. Weber,

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544 U.S. 269 (2005). Recognizing that “[a]s a result of the interplay between AEDPA’s 1-year

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statute of limitations1 and Lundy’s dismissal requirement, petitioners who come to federal court with

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‘mixed’ petitions run the risk of forever losing their opportunity for any federal review of their

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The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA), 28 U.S.C. § 1244(d).

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unexhausted claims,” the Supreme Court held that federal courts may now issue “stay and abey”

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orders under appropriate circumstances to permit petitioners to exhaust unexhausted claims before

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proceeding with their federal petitions. Rhines, 544 U.S. at 276-277. In so holding, the Supreme

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Court noted that the procedure should be “available only in limited circumstances.” 544 U.S. at 277.

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Specifically, the Court said it was appropriate only when (1) good cause exists for petitioner’s failure

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to exhaust; (2) petitioner’s unexhausted claims are not “plainly meritless” and (3) there is no

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indication that petitioner engaged in “abusive litigation tactics or intentional delay.” Id. at 277-278;

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Robbins v. Carey, 481 F.3d 1143, 1149 (9th Cir. 2005). When a petitioner has met these requirements,

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his interest in obtaining federal review of his claims outweighs the competing interests in finality and

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speedy resolution of federal petitions. Rhines, 544 U.S. at 278.

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Here, both ineffectiveness claims were denied by the state supreme court with citations to In re

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Swain, 34 Cal. 2d 300, 304 (1949) and People v. Duvall, 9 Cal.4th 464, 474 (1995), which collectively

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indicate that Petitioner has failed to present sufficient details or allege with sufficient particularity the

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grounds for his claims to warrant review on the merits. Traditionally, a denial under Swain and

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Duvall is without prejudice and is a signal to the petitioner that he or she should re-file the petition

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with additional information and details. E.g., Howard v. Campbell, 305 Fed. Appx. 442, 445 (9th Cir.

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2008). Here, it is apparent from the state record that Petitioner did not re-file his claims.

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In the previous order denying the various motions for stay, the Court indicated that, in any

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future motion for stay Petitioner should provide information justifying his lengthy delay in moving for

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a stay in this Court, in light of the facts that he ignored the chance to provide additional details in the

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state court, the answer has already been filed herein, and the case is presently ready for a decision.

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The Court further indicated that, granting a stay at this juncture, would require that Respondent file a

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supplemental answer, thus further delaying these proceedings.

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In his motion for stay, Petitioner argues that his own “ignorance and confusion” about the law,

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as well as prison conditions such as lockdowns, transfers, and segregation, prevented him from timely

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exhaustion of the two claims herein. In Jackson v. Roe, 425 F.3d 654 (9th Cir. 2005), the Ninth Circuit

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explained that “good cause” for failure to exhaust does not require “extraordinary circumstances.” 425

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F.3d at 661-62. But as the Jackson court recognized, district courts must interpret whether a petitioner
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has “good cause” for a failure to exhaust in light of the Supreme Court's instruction in Rhines that the

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district court should only stay mixed petitions only in “limited circumstances.” Id. at 661. The district

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court also must be mindful that AEDPA aims to encourage the finality of sentences and to encourage

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petitioners to exhaust their claims in state court before filing in federal court. Rhines, 544 U.S. at 276-

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77, 125 S.Ct. 1528. To conclude, in this case, that Petitioner had “good cause” for his failure to

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exhaust, simply because prison conditions are difficult and Petitioner is unskilled at the law, would

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conflict with the Supreme Court's guidance in Rhines and disregard the goals of AEDPA.

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Under Ninth Circuit law, lack of familiarity with the legal system, good faith mistakes, and
difficult prison conditions such as lock-downs, etc., do not constitute “good cause” for filing a belated

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motion for stay. Wooten v. Kirkland, 540 F.3d 1019, 1023 (9th Cir. 2008)(holding that petitioner’s

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belief that appellate counsel raised a claim before state court did not constitute good cause); Hughes v.

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Idaho State Bd. Of Corrections, 800 F.2d 905, 909 (9th Cir. 1986)(illiterate pro se litigant’s reliance on

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another inmate’s assistance was not sufficient cause).

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As indicated above, it is not merely Petitioner’s most recent motion for stay that is tardy, but

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the entire litigation process stretching back to the state court appeals indicates a continuous pattern by

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Petitioner to take timely advantage of his remedies in state and federal court. Petitioner’s belated

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excuse that he is unfamiliar with the legal system and that he has suffered lockdowns and

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administrative segregation—handicaps shared by many, if not all, state prisoners who file petitions in

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this Court—is insufficient to further delay these proceedings. Accordingly, the Court will deny

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Petitioner’s motion for stay.
ORDER

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Petitioner’s motion to stay the instant
proceedings on his habeas petition (Docs. 21), is DENIED.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

October 16, 2014

/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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