Johnson v. Unknown

Filing 3

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 1/26/17 ordering the Clerk of the Court shall send to petitioner the courts forms for application for writof habeas corpus and application for leave to proceed in forma pauperis. Within 30 days of the date of this order, petitioner shall either pay the $5 filing fee orsubmit a complete application for leave to proceed in forma pauperis using the form provided. Within 30 days of the date of this order, petitioner shall file a petition for writ ofhabeas corpus using the form provided. (Plummer, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MATTHEW LOUIS JOHNSON,

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Petitioner,

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No. 2:17-cv-146-EFB P

v.

ORDER

UNKNOWN,

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Respondent.

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Petitioner is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel. This action was opened when he

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filed a letter with the court requesting that he be “immediately” released. ECF No. 1. Petitioner

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has not properly commenced a civil action. To commence a civil action, a party must file a

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complaint or a petition. Fed. R. Civ. P. 3; Rule 3, Rules Governing § 2254 Cases; Woodford v.

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Garceau, 538 U.S. 202, 203 (2003). The instant filing constitutes neither.
If petitioner wishes to challenge a judgment of conviction entered against him in state

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court, he must file an application for a writ of habeas corpus using this court’s form petition. In

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addition, petitioner must either file an in forma pauperis affidavit or pay the required filing fee

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($5.00). See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914(a); 1915(a). Until petitioner submits a petition and either pays

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the filing fee or meets the requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), there is simply no case before the

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court.

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Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that:

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1. The Clerk of the Court shall send to petitioner the court’s forms for application for writ

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of habeas corpus and application for leave to proceed in forma pauperis.
2. Within 30 days of the date of this order, petitioner shall either pay the $5 filing fee or
submit a complete application for leave to proceed in forma pauperis using the form provided.
3. Within 30 days of the date of this order, petitioner shall file a petition for writ of
habeas corpus using the form provided.
4. Failure to comply with this order may result in this case being closed.
DATED: January 26, 2017.

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