Knutson v. Biter

Filing 14

ORDER by Judge James Donato denying 10 Motion to Compel; denying 11 Motion to Compel (lrcS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/6/2014)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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RONALD KNUTSON,

Case No. 14-cv-01472-JD

Plaintiff,
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v.

ORDER OF DISMISSAL

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Re: Dkt. Nos. 10, 11

MARTIN BITER,
Defendant.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Petitioner, a California prisoner, filed a pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant

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to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Petitioner was convicted in Santa Clara County, which is in this district, so

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venue is proper here. See 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d). The original petition was dismissed with leave to

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amend and he has filed an amended petition.
DISCUSSION

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I.

STANDARD OF REVIEW
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); Rose v.

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Hodges, 423 U.S. 19, 21 (1975). Habeas corpus petitions must meet heightened pleading

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requirements. McFarland v. Scott, 512 U.S. 849, 856 (1994). An application for a federal writ of

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habeas corpus filed by a prisoner who is in state custody pursuant to a judgment of a state court

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must “specify all the grounds for relief available to the petitioner ... [and] state the facts supporting

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each ground.” Rule 2(c) of the Rules Governing § 2254 Cases, 28 U.S.C. § 2254. “‘[N]otice’

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pleading is not sufficient, for the petition is expected to state facts that point to a ‘real possibility

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of constitutional error.’” Rule 4 Advisory Committee Notes (quoting Aubut v. Maine, 431 F.2d

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688, 689 (1st Cir. 1970)).

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II.

LEGAL CLAIMS

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While petitioner does not state when he was convicted and sentenced, the California Court

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of Appeal affirmed the conviction in 2006. People v. Knutson, No. H029611, 2006 WL 3639259

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(Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 14, 2006).1 The original petition was dismissed with leave to amend as it

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appeared to be untimely and the petition did not set forth specific habeas claims and much of it

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was illegibly handwritten and incomprehensible. It was noted that petitioner previously filed a

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habeas case in this Court regarding the same conviction in 2008 that was dismissed without
prejudice. Knutson v. Jacquez, Case No. 08-cv-5694-CW. The handwritten filings in that case

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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were also difficult to decipher and the claims were incomprehensible. Docket No. 14 in Case No.

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08-cv-5694-CW.
The amended petition has failed to cure the deficiencies described in the Court’s prior

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order. The majority of the amended petition is illegible and the Court cannot ascertain the relief

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petitioner seeks. He has not presented specific habeas claims and refers to the mafia, gambling,

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Bugsy Malone, Indian Tribe Gaming and court hearings in Santa Clara County Superior Court. 2

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As petitioner has again failed to present specific habeas claims or address the timeliness of the

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petition, the case is dismissed.
CONCLUSION

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1.

The motions to compel discover (Docket Nos. 10, 11) are DENIED.

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2.

The petition is DISMISSED for the reasons set forth above.

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Following a court trial, petitioner was convicted of attempted kidnapping and felony false
imprisonment. As petitioner had suffered four prior convictions for serious felonies and strikes,
he was sentenced to 25 years to life, consecutive to 20 years.
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Petitioner has presented similar allegations in a civil rights complaint filed around the same time
as this case in the Eastern District of California. See Knutson v. Kern Valley State Prison, Case
No. 14-cv-0448-SKO.
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Because reasonable jurists would not find the result here debatable, a certificate of

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appealability (“COA”) is DENIED. See Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484-85 (2000)

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(standard for COA). The clerk shall close the file.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: August 5, 2014
______________________________________
JAMES DONATO
United States District Judge

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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RONALD KNUTSON,

Case No. 14-cv-01472-JD

Plaintiff,
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v.

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

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MARTIN BITER,
Defendant.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am an employee in the Office of the Clerk, U.S.
District Court, Northern District of California.
That on 8/6/2014, I SERVED a true and correct copy(ies) of the attached, by placing said
copy(ies) in a postage paid envelope addressed to the person(s) hereinafter listed, by depositing
said envelope in the U.S. Mail, or by placing said copy(ies) into an inter-office delivery receptacle
located in the Clerk's office.

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Ronald Knutson
D4-115
Kern Valley State Prison
P.O. Box 5104
Delano, CA 93216-6000

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Dated: 8/6/2014

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Richard W. Wieking
Clerk, United States District Court

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By:________________________
LISA R. CLARK, Deputy Clerk to the
Honorable JAMES DONATO

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