Shorter v. Montgomery et al

Filing 15

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 08/20/18 GRANTING 14 Motion for Extension of time. Petitioner shall have until 9/13/18 to file a traverse. (Plummer, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SHANON SHORTER,

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Petitioner,

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No. 2:18-cv-0537 KJM AC P

v.

ORDER

WARREN L. MONTGOMERY,

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Respondent.

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Petitioner, a state prisoner proceeding through counsel, seeks clarification of the deadline

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for filing a traverse and either a prospective or retroactive extension of the deadline. ECF No. 14.

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On April 5, 2018, the undersigned ordered respondent to respond to the petition and directed that

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“[a]n answer shall be accompanied by all transcripts and other documents relevant to the issues

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presented in the petition.” ECF No. 5 at 1 (citing Rule 5, 28 U.S.C. foll. § 2254). In this case,

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respondent did not lodge the state court documents until over a month after the answer had been

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filed. ECF Nos. 12, 13. “Accompanied by” is generally understood to mean “’at the same time

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as,” and respondent’s failure to properly follow the court’s order has created understandable

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confusion as to petitioner’s deadline to file a traverse. In light of the directive that an answer was

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to be accompanied by the state court records, the court finds that the answer was not properly

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filed until the state court records were lodged and petitioner’s deadline to file a traverse runs from

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that date. Good cause appearing, petitioner’s request to briefly extend that deadline will be

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granted.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that petitioner’s request for an extension of time

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(ECF No. 14) is granted. Petitioner shall have until September 13, 2018, to file a traverse.

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DATED: August 20, 2018

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