Bonilla v. On Habeas Corpus

Filing 18

ORDER ADOPTING 16 FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS; ORDER DENYING Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus ; ORDER DECLINING to Issue Certificate of Appealability; New Case No. 1:18-cv-00687 AWI-JDP (HC), signed by District Judge Dale A. Drozd on 9/9/2020. CASE CLOSED(Martin-Gill, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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NEFTALI BONILLA,

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Petitioner,
v.
ON HABEAS CORPUS,
Respondent.

No. 1:18-cv-00687-NONE-JDP
ORDER ADOPTING FINDINGS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS, DENYING
PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS
CORPUS, AND DECLINING TO ISSUE
CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY
(Doc. No. 16)

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Petitioner Neftali Bonilla, a state prisoner without counsel, seeks a writ of habeas corpus

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under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. (Doc. No. 1.) This matter was referred to a United States Magistrate

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Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 302.

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On April 10, 2020, the assigned magistrate judge issued findings and recommendations

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recommending that the petition be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. (Doc. No. 16.) The

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findings and recommendations were served on petitioner and contained notice that objections

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were due within thirty (30) days. (Id.) On April 16, 2020, petitioner filed a traverse in response

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to the findings and recommendations, which the court will construe as objections to the findings

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and recommendations. (Doc. No. 17.)

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In accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636 (b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 304, this
court has conducted a de novo review of this case. Having carefully reviewed the entire file,

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including the petitioner’s objections, the court concludes that the findings and recommendations

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are supported by the record and proper analysis.

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Petitioner objects to the pending findings and recommendations on the grounds that:

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(1) his claims are not procedurally barred under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1); (2) his petition should

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not be denied on the merits under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(2); (3) his claims are exhausted; (4) his

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claims should not be “barred for lack of proper presentation in the state courts”; (5) petitioner

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“denies his custody is legal, or that his illegal custody would not have been ‘apparent to all

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reasonable jurists’”; and (6) petitioner “denies that there is not [sic] lawful basis to issue the writ

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under the statutorily established system of review.” (Doc. No. 17 at 2–3.)

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As to petitioner’s first and fourth objections, the court agrees with the magistrate judge’s

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finding that plaintiff’s Miranda warning claim is procedurally barred. Petitioner does not assert

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any additional arguments in his objections that would warrant the undersigned to find otherwise.

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Therefore, petitioner’s first objection does not call into question the conclusion reached in the

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pending findings and recommendations.
Addressing petitioner’s second and sixth objections, petitioner does not provide any

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additional bases for this court to consider that differ or otherwise supplement his 28 U.S.C. §

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2254 petition. To the extent petitioner objects on the grounds that the trial court violated

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petitioner’s due process rights by admitting certain text messages into evidence under California

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Evidence Code § 352, this court agrees with the pending findings and recommendations that

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federal habeas relief is not available for alleged violations of state law. See Estelle v. McGuire,

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502 U.S. 62, 67 (1991) (holding state court’s admission of evidence pursuant to California law “is

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no part of a federal court’s habeas review of a state conviction”). Accordingly, these objections

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are without merit. Petitioner’s third objection is irrelevant because the pending findings and

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recommendations do not address exhaustion.

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Having found that petitioner is not entitled to habeas relief, the court now turns to whether
a certificate of appealability should issue.1 A prisoner seeking a writ of habeas corpus has no
The court construes petitioner’s fifth objection as addressing the magistrate judge’s denial of a
certificate of appealability. (See Doc. No. 16 at 10.)
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absolute entitlement to appeal a district court’s denial of his petition, as an appeal is only allowed

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under certain circumstances. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253; Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 335–36

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(2003).

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If a court dismisses a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, the court may only issue a

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certificate of appealability when “the applicant has made a substantial showing of the denial of a

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constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). To make a substantial showing, the petitioner must

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establish that “reasonable jurists could debate whether (or, for that matter, agree that) the petition

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should have been resolved in a different manner or that the issues presented were ‘adequate to

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deserve encouragement to proceed further.’” Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000)

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(quoting Barefoot v. Estelle, 463 U.S. 880, 893 (1983)).
In the present case, the court concludes that petitioner has not made the required

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substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right to justify the issuance of a certificate of

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appealability. Reasonable jurists would not find the court’s determination that petitioner is not

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entitled to federal habeas corpus relief debatable, wrong, or deserving of encouragement to

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proceed further. Thus, the court declines to issue a certificate of appealability.

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Accordingly:

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1. The findings and recommendations issued on April 10, 2020 (Doc. No. 16) are

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adopted in full;

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2. The petition for writ of habeas corpus (Doc. No. 1) is dismissed;

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3. The court declines to issue a certificate of appealability; and

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4. The Clerk of Court is directed to assign a district judge to this case for the

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purposes of closure and to close this case.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

September 9, 2020
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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