Goff v. Salinas

Filing 30

ORDER and FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS signed by Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows on 1/31/13 denying 28 Motion for Reconsideration. Also, RECOMMENDING that respondent's motion to dismiss filed 06/29/12 18 be granted for failure to exhaust state court remedies. The clerk of court be directed to close this action. MOTION to DISMISS 18 referred to Judge William B. Shubb. Objections due within 14 days. (Plummer, M)

Download PDF
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 THOMAS L. GOFF, 11 Petitioner, 12 13 No. CIV S-11-3410 WBS GGH P vs. M. SALINAS, Warden, 14 ORDER AND FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Respondent. 15 16 / I. Introduction 17 Petitioner, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, has filed a petition for writ of habeas 18 corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Presently pending before the court is respondent’s motion 19 to dismiss for failure to exhaust, untimeliness, and because certain state law challenges are not 20 cognizable in habeas, filed June 29, 2012,1 and petitioner’s motion for reconsideration of his 21 request for appointment of counsel, filed December 5, 2012. 22 \\\\\ 23 \\\\\ 24 \\\\\ 25 1 26 In addition to his opposition, filed August 8, 2012, petitioner filed a “denial and exception to the respondent’s motion to dismiss” on November 18, 2012, which the court declines to consider because it is untimely. 1 2 3 4 5 II. Analysis A. Motion for Reconsideration Petitioner requests that this court reconsider its prior ruling of September 11, 2012, denying his request for appointment of counsel. Although motions to reconsider are directed to the sound discretion of the court, 6 Frito-Lay of Puerto Rico, Inc. v. Canas, 92 F.R.D. 384, 390 (D.C. Puerto Rico 1981), 7 considerations of judicial economy weigh heavily in the process. Thus Local Rule 230(j) 8 requires that a party seeking reconsideration of a district court’s order must brief the “new or 9 different facts or circumstances [which] were not shown upon such prior motion, or what other 10 grounds exist for the motion.” The rule derives from the “law of the case” doctrine which 11 provides that the decisions on legal issues made in a case “should be followed unless there is 12 substantially different evidence . . . new controlling authority, or the prior decision was clearly 13 erroneous and would result in injustice.” Handi Investment Co. v. Mobil Oil Corp., 653 F.2d 14 391, 392 (9th Cir. 1981); see also Waggoner v. Dallaire, 767 F.2d 589, 593 (9th Cir. 1985), cert. 15 denied, 475 U.S. 1064 (1986). 16 Courts construing Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e), providing for the 17 alteration or amendment of a judgment, have noted that a motion to reconsider is not a vehicle 18 permitting the unsuccessful party to “rehash” arguments previously presented, or to present 19 “contentions which might have been raised prior to the challenged judgment.” Costello v. United 20 States, 765 F.Supp. 1003, 1009 (C.D. Cal. 1991); see also F.D.I.C. v. Meyer, 781 F.2d 1260, 21 1268 (7th Cir. 1986); Keyes v. National R.R. Passenger Corp., 766 F. Supp. 277, 280 (E.D. Pa. 22 1991). These holdings “reflect[] district courts’ concerns for preserving dwindling resources and 23 promoting judicial efficiency.” Costello, 765 F.Supp. at 1009. 24 Petitioner claims that he needs counsel because a previous motion he filed was 25 denied by the court as inapposite and untimely; he has been harassed by CDCR; he has been 26 moved more than four times since he filed the instant petition; his legal paperwork has been 1 mixed up, stolen, tampered with and delayed; and his access to the law library has been blocked. 2 Although such assertions may be relevant to a new civil rights complaint, and certainly do not 3 assist petitioner in prosecuting his petition, they are presently not cause for appointment of 4 counsel. The undersigned finds no change in the circumstances of this case sufficient to warrant 5 reversing its prior order. See below. Therefore, petitioner’s motion is denied. 6 B. Motion to Dismiss 7 Respondent moves to dismiss on the basis that these claims are unexhausted, that 8 even if petitioner were permitted to exhaust, the statute of limitations already expired and it could 9 not be tolled or restarted, and that petitioner’s state law challenges are not cognizable in federal 10 11 habeas. The exhaustion of state court remedies is a prerequisite to the granting of a 12 petition for writ of habeas corpus. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1). If exhaustion is to be waived, it 13 must be waived explicitly by respondent’s counsel. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(3). A waiver of 14 exhaustion, thus, may not be implied or inferred. A petitioner satisfies the exhaustion 15 requirement by providing the highest state court with a full and fair opportunity to consider all 16 claims before presenting them to the federal court. Picard v. Connor, 404 U.S. 270, 276 (1971); 17 Middleton v. Cupp, 768 F.2d 1083, 1086 (9th Cir. 1985). 18 It is not enough that all the facts necessary to support the federal claim were 19 before the state courts, Picard, at 277, 92 S.Ct ., at 513, or that a somewhat similar state-law 20 claim was made. See Duncan v. Henry, 513 U.S. 364, 366, 115 S.Ct. 887 (1995). The habeas 21 petitioner must have “fairly presented” to the state courts the “substance” of his federal habeas 22 corpus claim. Picard, supra, 404 U.S. at 275, 277-278, 92 S.Ct. at 512, 513-514. See also, Rose 23 v. Lundy, 455 U.S. 509, 102 S .Ct. 1198, 1204 (1982). 24 Petitioner has the burden of proving exhaustion of state court remedies and in 25 California a petitioner must present his claims to the California Supreme Court. Cartwright v. 26 Cupp, 650 F.2d 1103, 1104 (9th Cir. 1981); Kim v. Villalobos, 799 F.2d 1317, 1319 (9th Cir. 1 1986). 2 Petitioner raises four claims in the instant federal petition in connection with a 3 disciplinary infraction for “forgery/falsification of documents (not affecting term of 4 imprisonment),” for which he was assessed forfeiture of sixty day credits: 1) denial of staff 5 assistant to help collect evidence and obtain discovery for defense of charges; 2) denial of ability 6 to call witnesses, ask questions, and collect evidence for defense; 3) inability to prepare defense 7 due to being held in administrative segregation; and 4) petitioner was not given a final copy of 8 his 115 RVR hearing until 07-15-10 (see RVR Part C Supplemental) which sever[e]ly delayed 9 his due process timely appeal. 10 These claims were raised through the internal administrative appeals process to 11 the final level of review; however, petitioner concedes that he filed habeas petitions only through 12 the state appellate court, and did not file a habeas petition in the California Supreme Court.2 13 (Doc. 1 at 48, 91; Resp.’s Mot., Ex. 6; Opp. at 2.) Thus, the petition should be dismissed as 14 unexhausted. 15 16 For this reason, the court declines to address respondent’s other grounds for relief. III. Conclusion 17 18 Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that: petitioner’s motion for reconsideration, filed December 5, 2012, (doc. no. 28), is denied. 19 IT IS HEREBY RECOMMENDED that: 20 1. Respondent’s motion to dismiss, filed June 29, 2012, (doc. no. 18), be granted 21 for failure to exhaust state court remedies; and 22 2. The Clerk of Court be directed to close this action. 23 24 25 26 2 Petitioner did file a petition for writ of mandate with the California Supreme Court prior to filing his habeas petition with the state appellate court, which sought an order reversing the Rule Violation Report and restoring his credits. (Resp.’s Mot., Ex. 3.) However, this is not a procedure likely to be utilized to review the merits of an action in habeas corpus. Thus, this filing for a writ of mandate does not exhaust the claims. See Castille v. Peoples, 489 U.S. 346, 351, 109 S.Ct. 1056 (1989). 1 These findings and recommendations are submitted to the United States District 2 Judge assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(l). Within fourteen 3 days after being served with these findings and recommendations, any party may file written 4 objections with the court and serve a copy on all parties. Such a document should be captioned 5 “Objections to Magistrate Judge’s Findings and Recommendations.” Any reply to the objections 6 shall be served and filed within seven days after service of the objections. The parties are 7 advised that failure to file objections within the specified time waives the right to appeal the 8 District Court's order. Martinez v. Ylst, 951 F.2d 1153 (9th Cir. 1991). 9 DATED: January 31, 2013 10 /s/ Gregory G. Hollows UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 GGH:076/Goff3410.exh.wpd

Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.


Why Is My Information Online?