Rivas v. Benov
Filing
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ORDER Construing Petition As Motion For Leave To Amend In Earlier Case, ORDER Directing Clerk Of The Court To Docket The Petition In This Case As A Motion To Amend In Case No. 1:14-cv-01109-SAB, ORDER Directing The Clerk Of The Court To Close This Case, signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 11/5/2014. CASE CLOSED.(Fahrney, E)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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CESAR ERNESTO RIVAS,
Petitioner,
v.
MICHAEL L. BENOV,
Respondent.
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Case No.: 1:14-cv-01118-JLT
ORDER CONSTRUING PETITION AS MOTION
FOR LEAVE TO AMEND IN EARLIER CASE
ORDER DIRECTING CLERK OF THE COURT TO
DOCKET THE PETITION IN THIS CASE AS A
MOTION TO AMEND IN CASE NO. 1:14-cv01109-SAB
ORDER DIRECTING THE CLERK OF THE
COURT TO CLOSE THIS CASE
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Petitioner is a federal prisoner proceeding in propria persona with a petition for writ of habeas
corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241.
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PROCEDURAL HISTORY
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The instant petition was filed on July 17, 2014, challenging a prison disciplinary hearing
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conducted at the facility at which Petitioner is presently incarcerated. (Doc. 1). On July 16, 2014, the
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previous day, Petitioner had filed an almost identical petition in case no. 1:14-cv-01109-SAB (“14-
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1109”), challenging the same prison disciplinary proceeding, but omitting a signature.
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DISCUSSION
In Woods v. Carey, 525 F.3d 886 (9th Cir. 2008), the Ninth Circuit held that, under certain
circumstances, if a pro se petitioner files a habeas petition during the pendency of a previous petition,
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the district court should construe the later-filed petition as a motion to amend the earlier-filed petition.
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Woods, 525 F.3d at 889-890. Hence, Woods require a district court to construe a “second or
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successive” petition filed while an earlier petition is still pending in the district court as a motion to
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amend the earlier petition.
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Here, as mentioned, Petitioner first filed a habeas petition in this Court in case no. 14-1109
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challenging prison discipline. The following day, he filed the instant petition. Both petitions appear
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virtually identical, except that Petitioner’s prison discipline information is contained in the earlier-filed
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petition which omits a signature as required by federal law. Applying the Ninth Circuit’s reasoning in
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Woods, this Court must treat the instant later-filed petition as a motion to amend the earlier-filed
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petition in case no. 14-1109. Accordingly, the Court will direct the Clerk of the Court to file this
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petition in case no.14-1109 as a motion to amend the petition in that case and will direct the Clerk of
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the Court to administratively close this case.
ORDER
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For the foregoing reasons, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED as follows:
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to amend the petition in case no. 1:14-cv-01109-SAB to include the claim raised herein;
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The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to docket in case no. 1:14-cv-01109-SAB the instant
petition for writ of habeas corpus (Doc. 1) as a motion to amend;
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The Court construes the instant petition for writ of habeas corpus (Doc. 1), as a motion
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The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to close this case.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
November 5, 2014
/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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