(HC) Williams v. Jones

Filing 30

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Jeremy D. Peterson on 3/7/2025 DISMISSING 26 Second Amended Petition with leave to amend. Within 30 days from service of this order, petitioner shall file either an amended petition or a notice of voluntary dismissal of this action without prejudice. 28 Motion for Evidentiary Hearing and Appointment of Counsel is DENIED. (Deputy Clerk HAH)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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KIRK DOUGLAS WILLIAMS,

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Petitioner,

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v.

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GENA JONES,

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Case No. 2:23-cv-1862-DC-JDP (P)

ORDER

Respondent.

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Petitioner, a former state prisoner, brings this action under section 2254 and alleges that

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he is actually innocent of the state criminal conviction that has resulted in his placement in

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custody. In my last screening order, I found that the petition was deficient because it did not use

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the standard habeas form offered by this district, and because the lengthy petition was difficult to

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understand. ECF No. 18 at 1-2. I also informed petitioner that his petition failed to indicate

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which, if any, of his claims had been exhausted in state court. Id. I gave petitioner leave to

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amend, and he has done so, ECF No. 26. The amended petition is, however, deficient for the

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same reasons as its predecessor. I will give petitioner one final opportunity to amend. If the next

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amended petition is similarly flawed, I will recommend that this action be dismissed. I will also

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deny petitioner’s motion for appointment of counsel and for an evidentiary hearing. ECF No. 28.

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The petition is before me for preliminary review under Rule 4 of the Rules Governing

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Section 2254 Cases. Under Rule 4, the judge assigned to the habeas proceeding must examine

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the habeas petition and order a response to the petition unless it “plainly appears” that the

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petitioner is not entitled to relief. See Valdez v. Montgomery, 918 F.3d 687, 693 (9th Cir. 2019);

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Boyd v. Thompson, 147 F.3d 1124, 1127 (9th Cir. 1998).

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As before, petitioner has filed an extremely lengthy petition (nearly one thousand pages)

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comprised entirely of uncontextualized exhibits. ECF No. 26. And, as before, the exact number

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of claims at issue and their exhaustion status is impossible to determine. No respondent could

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reasonably be expected to digest a petition of this length and to understand the nature of

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petitioner’s claims. I will dismiss the operative petition and give petitioner a final opportunity to

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amend.
I will also deny petitioner’s motion for an evidentiary hearing and appointment of counsel.

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ECF No. 28. Therein, he alleges that an unnamed member of this district’s clerk’s office caused

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his most recent petition to be “improperly numerically filed.” Id. at 2. I do not understand this

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allegation and, in any event, plaintiff’s most recent petition has been filed and considered. There

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is no need for an evidentiary hearing on this issue and, as such, no need for counsel to represent

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him at such a hearing. The motion is denied.

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Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that:

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1. Petitioner’s second amended petition, ECF No. 26, is DISMISSED with leave to

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amend.
2. Within thirty days from service of this order, petitioner shall file either (1) an amended
petition or (2) notice of voluntary dismissal of this action without prejudice.

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3. Failure to timely file either an amended petition or notice of voluntary dismissal may

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result in the imposition of sanctions, including a recommendation that this action be dismissed

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with prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b).

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4. The Clerk of Court shall send petitioner a habeas form with this order.

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5. Petitioner’s motion for evidentiary hearing and appointment of counsel, ECF No. 28, is

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DENIED.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:

March 7, 2025

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JEREMY D. PETERSON
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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