Savannah v. People of the State of Calfornia

Filing 6

ORDER of Dismissal with Leave to Amend. Motions terminated: 5 MOTION for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis filed by Frederick Bernard Savannah, 3 MOTION for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis filed by Frederick Bernard Savannah. Signed by Judge Edward M. Chen on 9/12/2011. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate of Service). (emcsec, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/12/2011)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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FREDERICK BERNARD SAVANNAH,

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Petitioner,

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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v.

No. C-11-3634 EMC (pr)
ORDER OF DISMISSAL WITH LEAVE
TO AMEND

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA,

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Respondent.
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Frederick Bernard Savannah, a prisoner at the Calipatria State Prison, filed a pro se petition

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for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. His petition is now before the Court for

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review pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §2243 and Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases.

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This Court may entertain a petition for writ of habeas corpus "in behalf of a person in

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custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court only on the ground that he is in custody in

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violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States." 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a). A

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district court considering an application for a writ of habeas corpus shall "award the writ or issue an

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order directing the respondent to show cause why the writ should not be granted, unless it appears

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from the application that the applicant or person detained is not entitled thereto." 28 U.S.C. § 2243.

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Rule 2(c) of the Rules Governing Habeas Corpus cases instructs the petitioner to “specify all the

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grounds for relief available to [him]” and to “state the facts supporting each ground.” Rule 2(c),

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Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts, 28 U.S.C. foll. § 2254; see

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also Hendricks v. Vasquez, 908 F.2d 490, 491-92 (9th Cir. 1990) (habeas petitioner must state his

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claims with sufficient specificity).

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The petition filed by Savannah states that he is challenging a conviction from Contra Costa

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County Superior Court but provides almost no other relevant information, such as the date of the

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conviction, the crime(s) of which he was convicted, the length of his sentence, or the claims he

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wants to present to this Court. Due to Savannah's failure to fill in the portions of the form petition

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where he was directed to list his grounds for relief, see Petition at 5-6, the petition does not state a

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claim upon which relief may be granted.

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Savannah must file an amended petition in which he states every claim for federal habeas

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relief he wants this Court to consider and describes the facts that support each claim. (Some

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petitioners find it helpful to submit a copy of their briefs from the California Court of Appeal or
California Supreme Court as a way to provide the details of the legal claims that they have listed in

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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their federal habeas petitions.) He should note that this Court can only consider claims for

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violations of his rights under the constitution, laws or treaties of the United States, see 28 U.S.C. §

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2254(a), and cannot consider claims for violations of state law. In preparing his amended petition,

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Savannah also should bear in mind that this Court cannot consider a claim unless state court

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remedies have been exhausted for that claim. The exhaustion requirement means that he must

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present each and every claim to the California Supreme Court in a petition for review or in a habeas

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petition to give that court a fair opportunity to rule on the merits of it before this Court can consider

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the claim.

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In his amended petition, Savannah also must name a proper respondent. The proper

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respondent for him would be the warden of the prison in which he is now incarcerated.

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For the foregoing reasons, the petition is dismissed with leave to file an amended petition no

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later than October 14, 2011. The amended petition should have this case caption and case number

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on the first page and should be clearly marked "Amended Petition." Failure to file the amended

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petition by the deadline will result in the dismissal of this action.

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Petitioner's in forma pauperis application is GRANTED. (Docket # 3, # 5.)

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: September 12, 2011
_________________________
EDWARD M. CHEN
United States District Judge

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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