Sprague v. Beard
Filing
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ORDER denying 23 Motion for Reconsideration signed by District Judge Dale A. Drozd on 8/8/2017. (Lundstrom, T)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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JAMES SION SPRAGUE,
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No. 1:16-cv-00243-DAD-JLT
Petitioner,
v.
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR
RECONSIDERATION
JEFFREY BEARD,
(Doc. No. 23)
Respondent.
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Petitioner is a state prisoner proceeding in propria persona with a petition for writ of
habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254.
The instant petition was filed on February 22, 2016. On June 30, 2016, the assigned
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magistrate judge issued findings and recommendations recommending that the petition be
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dismissed for lack of jurisdiction and because it was untimely filed. (Doc. No. 13.) On February
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1, 2017, the undersigned adopted those findings and recommendations, dismissed the petition,
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entered judgment against petitioner, and ordered the case closed. (Doc. Nos. 21, 22.) On March
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3, 2017, petitioner filed the instant motion for reconsideration. (Doc. No. 23.)
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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) generally governs the reconsideration of final
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orders of the district court. Rule 60 allows the court, “[o]n motion and just terms,” to “relieve a
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party or . . . from a final judgment, order, or proceeding,” for “mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or
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excusable neglect” and for “any other reason that justifies relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(1), (b)(6).
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Courts have held that a motion for reconsideration may be justified on three different grounds:
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“(1) an intervening change in controlling law; (2) the discovery of new evidence not previously
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available; and (3) the need to correct clear or manifest error in law or fact in order to prevent
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manifest injustice.” Kowalski v. Anova Food, LLC, 958 F. Supp. 2d 1147, 1153 (D. Haw. 2013)
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(citing Mustafa v. Clark Cty. Sch. Dist., 157 F.3d 1169, 1178–79 (9th Cir. 1998)). Petitioner
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argues that the third of these circumstances is present.
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Here, petitioner asserts that, because the magistrate judge concluded habeas jurisdiction
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will not lie in this case, she should not have reached the issue of whether the petition was timely.
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(Doc. No. 23.) Petitioner asserts this is a “manifest error” of law resulting in “manifest injustice”
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to him, because in its absence, he would request the court issue a certificate of appealability on
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the jurisdictional question. (Id. at 5–6) (arguing it is “debatable whether he meets the in-custody
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requirement for habeas review”). However, petitioner provides neither argument nor authority
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showing Bailey v. Hill, 599 F.3d 976 (9th Cir. 2010)—where the Ninth Circuit held habeas
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jurisdiction does not lie for a petitioner seeking only to overturn a restitution order and not
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challenging the conviction or confinement itself—is no longer good law or presents a debatable
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question regarding the court’s habeas jurisdiction over this case. Indeed, Bailey has been cited
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recently and favorably for this proposition by both this circuit and the Third Circuit. Tavares v.
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Whitehouse, 851 F.3d 863, 882 n.5 (9th Cir. 2017); United States v. Ross, 801 F.3d 374, 380 (3d
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Cir. 2015). Lacking any argument or authority to the contrary, this court would not issue a
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certificate of appealability on the issue of whether it has jurisdiction over a petition seeking to
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challenge only a restitution order. Therefore, petitioner cannot show he suffered a “manifest
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injustice” by this court’s decision dismissing the petition both for lack of jurisdiction and on
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grounds of untimeliness.
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Accordingly, petitioner’s motion for reconsideration (Doc. No. 23) is denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
August 8, 2017
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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