Herrera v. Price
Filing
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ORDER GRANTING 10 Motion to Dismiss WITHOUT PREJUDICE, signed by Magistrate Judge Michael J. Seng on 02/11/18.CASE CLOSED (Martin-Gill, S)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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RUBEN HERRERA,
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Petitioner,
v.
BRANDON PRICE, Executive Director
,
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Case No. 1:17-cv-00972-MJS
ORDER GRANTING RESPONDENT’S
MOTION TO DISMISS AND DISMISSING
PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS
(ECF NO. 10)
CLERK TO CLOSE CASE
Respondent.
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Petitioner is a detainee proceeding with counsel on a petition for writ of habeas
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corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Respondent Brandon Price, Executive Director of
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Coalinga State Hospital, is represented by Julie Anne Hokins of the Attorney General’s
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Office for the State of California. All parties have consented to Magistrate Judge
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jurisdiction for all purposes pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). (ECF Nos. 3, 7.)
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Briefly stated, Petitioner is in the custody of the California Department of State
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Hospitals pending a jury trial on a petition for commitment as a Sexually Violent Predator
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under California’s Sexually Violent Predator Act (“SVPA”), California Welfare &
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Institutions Code § 6600 et seq. Petitioner contends he is statutorily ineligible for SVPA
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commitment because he was not convicted of a “sexually violent offense.” Accordingly,
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he contends, his detention is unlawful. He further contends that the SVPA petition
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violates his due process rights and the bar against double jeopardy. He asks this court to
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order dismissal of the petition and his release from custody. (ECF No. 1.)
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Before the Court is Respondent’s motion to dismiss the petition pursuant to
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Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971). (ECF No. 10.) The motion is submitted and
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stands ready for adjudication. For the reasons stated below, Respondent’s motion will be
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granted and the petition will be dismissed.
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I.
Factual and Procedural History
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On October 14, 2004, Petitioner was convicted pursuant to a plea agreement of a
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lewd act with a child of 14 or 15 years when the person is at least 10 years older than
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the child, and sodomy by a person over 21 years with a person who is under the age of
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sixteen. (ECF No. 1-2 at 30-33.) He was sentenced to a two year term of incarceration
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but, due to time served, was immediately released on parole. Thereafter, he was twice
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taken into custody for parole violations (failure to register, removal of GPS monitoring
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device, and absconding from parole supervision). (ECF No. 1 at 8-9.)
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On December 4, 2007, while Petitioner was in custody on the parole violations,
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the Fresno County District Attorney filed a petition for civil commitment of Petitioner
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pursuant to the SVPA. (ECF No. 1-2 at 5-7.) On January 16, 2008, the Fresno County
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Superior Court found probable cause to support the commitment petition and ordered
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Petitioner detained at Coalinga State Hospital. (Id. at 9-12.)
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Petitioner since has challenged the petition in a number of ways. On October 28,
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2009, he filed a motion to dismiss the commitment petition and/or to overturn the finding
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of probable cause. (Id. at 36-54.) Therein, he argued, inter alia, that he had not been
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convicted of an offense that would render him eligible for SVPA commitment. The
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Superior Court denied the motion on December 9, 2009. (Id. at 81.)
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On July 27, 2011, Petitioner challenged the denial of his motion by filing in the
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California Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate District a petition for writ of mandate or
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prohibition. (Id. at 90, 106-29.) The Court of Appeal denied the petition on October 7,
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2011. (Id. at 90.) Petitioner sought review in the California Supreme Court; the petition
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was denied on November 22, 2011. (Id. at 90-91, 132.)
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On December 30, 2011, Petitioner, proceeding pro se, filed a petition for writ of
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habeas corpus in this court in Case No. 1:11-cv-02166-LJO-DLB. (Id. at 87-134.) On
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March 7, 2012, the petition was dismissed without prejudice on the basis of Younger
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abstention. Herrera v. Ahlin, No. 1:11-cv-02166-LJO-DLB (E.D. Cal. Mar. 7, 2012).
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On August 24, 2016,1 Petitioner filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the
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Fresno County Superior Court, again arguing that he lacked a conviction for a sexually
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violent offense and thus was ineligible for commitment under the SVPA. (Id. at 166-69.)
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On September 19, 2016, the Superior Court denied the petition. (Id. at 199-205.)
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Petitioner then pursued this claim through the Fifth District Court of Appeal and
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the California Supreme Court. (Id. at 326-27.) The Fifth District Court of Appeal denied
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the petition and, on March 22, 2017, the California Supreme Court denied review. (Id.;
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id. at 208.)
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Petitioner filed the instant petition on July 20, 2017. (ECF No. 1.) On October 10,
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2017, Respondent was ordered to respond to the petition, and to specifically address
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whether the Court should abstain from entertaining the petition pursuant to Younger.
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(ECF No. 4.) Respondent then filed the instant motion to dismiss. (ECF No. 10.)
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Petitioner filed an opposition. (ECF No. 11.) Respondent filed no reply and the time for
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doing so has passed.
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II.
Discussion
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“Younger abstention is a jurisprudential doctrine rooted in overlapping principles
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of equity, comity, and federalism.” San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce
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In the intervening five year period, Petitioner challenged the SVPA proceedings on other grounds.
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Political Action Comm. v. San Jose, 546 F.3d 1087, 1091 (9th Cir. 2008). The Younger
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doctrine extends to state civil judicial proceedings if the following four factors are met:
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(1) there is an ongoing state-initiated judicial proceeding; (2) the proceeding implicates
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important state interests; (3) the federal litigant is not barred from litigating federal
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constitutional issues in the state proceeding; and (4) federal court action would enjoin
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the proceeding or have the practical effect of doing so, i.e., would interfere in a way that
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Younger disapproves. Gilbertson v. Albright, 381 F.3d 965, 978 (9th Cir. 2004) (en
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banc).
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Here, the first element is satisfied because there is an ongoing state-initiated civil
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commitment proceeding pending against Petitioner. Although many years have passed
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since the SVPA petition was first filed, no final judgment has been entered, and the case
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is still ongoing for the purposes of Younger abstention. See San Jose Silicon Valley
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Chamber of Commerce Political Action Comm., 546 F.3d 1087, 1093. See also Williams
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v. King, 696 F. App'x 283, 284 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 138 S. Ct. 506 (2017). Petitioner
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concedes this point. (ECF No. 11 at 3.)
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The second element also is satisfied: The SVPA proceeding implicates “the
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important state interests of protecting the public from sexually violent offenders and
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providing such offenders with mental health treatment.” Smith v. Plummer, 458 F. App’x
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642, 643-44 (9th Cir. 2011). See also, e.g., Arceo v. King, No. 2:14-cv-2712-GEB-DBP,
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2016 WL 7384024, at *2 (E.D. Cal. Dec. 21, 2016), report and recommendation adopted,
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No. 2017 WL 6888521 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 24, 2017). Nonetheless, Petitioner contends that
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this element is not satisfied because he is not a sexually violent offender, and thus there
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is no important interest in protecting the public from him. (ECF No. 11 at 3.) But, this
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rationale would apply in every case where a petitioner disputes whether he meets the
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SVPA criteria, thus eviscerating the Younger doctrine. The argument is therefore
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unpersuasive.
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As to the third element, Petitioner argues that the state court proceedings are
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inadequate because his efforts to raise his constitutional claims in state court have been
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unsuccessful. However, there is no question that Petitioner has been afforded the
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opportunity to raise his federal constitutional claims in the state proceedings and indeed
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has done so, in some regard, through every level of the California judicial system.
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Petitioner has not shown that “state procedural law barred presentation of [his] claims,”
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Pennzoil Co. v. Texaco, Inc., 481 U.S. 1, 14 (1987), or that “extraordinary
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circumstances” rendered the California courts “incapable of fairly and fully adjudicating”
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his federal constitutional issues, Kugler v. Helfant, 421 U.S. 117, 124 (1975). Petitioner
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“obviously disagrees vigorously with the result that he has achieved thus far in California.
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However, his lack of success does not render the forum inadequate.” Baffert v. California
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Horse Racing Bd., 332 F.3d 613, 621 (9th Cir. 2003).
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As to the fourth element, if this Court were to grant Petitioner the relief he seeks, it
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would have the practical effect of enjoining the state SVPA proceedings. Smith, 458 F.
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App’x at 643-44.
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Finally, although Younger abstention provides an equitable exception in cases
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where extraordinary circumstances threaten great, immediate and irreparable injury, see
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Younger, 401 U.S. at 45-46, 53-54 (irreparable injury shown where statute flagrantly and
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patently violative of express constitutional prohibitions); Perez v. Ledesma, 401 U.S. 82,
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85 (1971) (federal injunctive relief in pending state prosecutions proper in cases of
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proven harassment or prosecutions undertaken by state officials in bad faith without
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hope of obtaining a valid conviction), petitioner fails to demonstrate that this is such a
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case. Petitioner has not shown bad faith or harassment by state officials responsible for
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his commitment proceedings, nor other extraordinary circumstances to indicate
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irreparable injury. See Kugler, 421 U.S. at 124. He argues primarily that he is suffering
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irreparable injury just by being detained and forced to face the SVPA proceeding
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pending against him. However, Younger makes clear that any injury suffered by a
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petitioner as a result of being forced to defend himself against a state prosecution
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brought in good faith does not rise to the level of “irreparable injury,” even where the
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petitioner alleges the prosecution is unlawful. Younger, 401 U.S. at 46 (“No citizen or
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member of the community is immune from prosecution, in good faith, for his alleged
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criminal acts. The imminence of such a prosecution even though alleged to be
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unauthorized and hence unlawful is not alone ground for relief in equity . . . .” (internal
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quotation marks omitted)). Furthermore, the Court must reject Petitioner’s claim that the
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SVPA proceedings are causing irreparable injury to his Fifth Amendment right to avoid
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being twice put in jeopardy for the same offense. See Hydrick v. Hunter, 500 F.3d 978,
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993 (9th Cir. 2007) (civil nature of SVPA proceedings forecloses challenges based on
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violation of Double Jeopardy clause), vacated on other grounds by Hunter v. Hydrick,
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556 U.S. 1256 (2009).
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III.
Conclusion and Order
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Based on the foregoing, the Court must abstain under Younger from reaching the
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merits of Petitioner’s claims. Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that Respondent’s
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motion to dismiss (ECF No. 10) is GRANTED, and the petition is dismissed without
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prejudice.
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The Clerk of Court is directed to close the case.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
February 11, 2018
/s/
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Michael J. Seng
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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