Jonathan Hanks v. Sexton

Filing 44

ORDER DENYING 43 Motion for Reconsideration, signed by District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on 1/24/2020. (Orozco, A)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JONATHAN HANKS,

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No. 1:18-cv-00202-LJO-SKO (HC)

Petitioner,
v.

ORDER DENYING SECOND MOTION FOR
RECONSIDERATION

MARTIN BITER, Warden,
[Doc. 43]

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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 federal petition was filed on February 8, 2018. (Doc. 1.) On May 14, 2018,

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Respondent filed a motion to dismiss the petition for violating the statute of limitations. (Doc.

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14.) On November 20, 2018, the Magistrate Judge entered Findings and Recommendations to

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grant the motion to dismiss the petition. (Doc. 33.) Petitioner filed objections on January 30,

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2019. (Doc. 36.) On February 19, 2019, the Court adopted the Findings and Recommendations,

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granted Respondent’s motion to dismiss the petition, and entered judgment against Petitioner.

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(Docs. 37, 38.)

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On February 28, 2019, Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration. (Doc. 39.) On April

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29, 2019, the Court denied the motion for reconsideration. (Doc. 42.) On January 23, 2020,

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Petitioner filed a second motion for reconsideration. (Doc. 43.)
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DISCUSSION

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) governs the reconsideration of final orders of the

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district court. Rule 60(b) permits a district court to relieve a party from a final order or judgment

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on grounds of: “(1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect; (2) newly discovered

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evidence . . .; (3) fraud . . . of an adverse party; (4) the judgment is void; (5) the judgment has

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been satisfied . . . or (6) any other reason justifying relief from the operation of the judgment.”

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b). A motion under Rule 60(b) must be made within a reasonable time, in any

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event “not more than one year after the judgment, order, or proceeding was entered or taken.” Id.

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Moreover, when filing a motion for reconsideration, Local Rule 230(j) requires a party to

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show the “new or different facts or circumstances claimed to exist which did not exist or were not

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shown upon such prior motion, or what other grounds exist for the motion.” Motions to

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reconsider are committed to the discretion of the trial court. Combs v. Nick Garin Trucking, 825

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F.2d 437, 441 (D.C.Cir. 1987); Rodgers v. Watt, 722 F.2d 456, 460 (9th Cir. 1983) (en banc). To

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succeed, a party must set forth facts or law of a strongly convincing nature to induce the court to

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reverse its prior decision. See, e.g., Kern-Tulare Water Dist. v. City of Bakersfield, 634 F.Supp.

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656, 665 (E.D.Cal. 1986), aff’d in part and rev’d in part on other grounds, 828 F.2d 514 (9th Cir.

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1987).

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Here, just as in the first motion for reconsideration, Petitioner fails to meet the

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requirements for granting a motion for reconsideration: He has not shown “mistake, inadvertence,

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surprise, or excusable neglect;” he has not shown the existence of either newly discovered

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evidence or fraud; he has not established that the judgment is either void or satisfied; and, finally,

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he has not presented any other reasons justifying relief from judgment. Moreover, pursuant to the

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Court’s Local Rules, Petitioner has not shown “new or different facts or circumstances claimed to

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exist which did not exist or were not shown upon such prior motion, or what other grounds exist

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for the motion.” Local Rule 230(j).

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Petitioner raises the same arguments that he did before in his objections. (Doc. 36.) He

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again claims the jury did not make a finding as to all elements of the crime, to wit, that he had the

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malice necessary to be found guilty of first degree murder. (Doc. 36 at 18-19.) Petitioner submits
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no “new reliable evidence – whether it be exculpatory scientific evidence, trustworthy eyewitness

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accounts, or critical physical evidence – that was not presented at trial,” to show actual innocence.

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Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298, 329 (1995). And, he raises no new claims or arguments which

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were not or could not have been presented to the Court in the initial petition.

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ORDER
Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that Petitioner’s second motion for

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reconsideration (Doc. 43) is DENIED WITH PREJUDICE. The case is closed, and no further

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filings will be accepted.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

/s/ Lawrence J. O’Neill _____

January 24, 2020

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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