Hook v. Roddy et al
Filing
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ORDER DISMISSING CASE WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Signed by Judge Janis L. Sammartino on 10/25/2024.(All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service). Blank IFP and 2241 form mailed to Petitioner.(mef).
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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CHRISTINA RITTER HOOK,
Case No.: 24-CV-1939 JLS (KSC)
Petitioner,
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v.
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MICHAEL RODDY, et al.,
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ORDER DISMISSING CASE
WITHOUT PREJUDICE
Respondents.
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Presently before the Court is pro se Petitioner Christina Ritter Hook’s Petition for a
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Writ of Habeas Corpus (“Pet.,” ECF No. 1), filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. For the
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reasons discussed below, the Court dismisses the case without prejudice.
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FAILURE TO SATISFY THE FILING FEE REQUIREMENT
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Petitioner has failed to pay the $5.00 filing fee and has failed to move to proceed in
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forma pauperis. The Court cannot proceed until Petitioner has either paid the $5.00 filing
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fee or has qualified to proceed in forma pauperis. See R. 3(a), Rules Governing Section
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2254 Cases (2019). Accordingly, the instant case is subject to dismissal for failure to
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satisfy the filing fee requirement.
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BASIS FOR PETITION
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In the Petition, Petitioner seeks habeas relief “from unlawful incarceration in
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violation of church and state separate and in violation of Article VI section III of the United
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24-CV-1939 JLS (KSC)
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States Constitution” and asserts she “is being unlawfully detained,” citing case numbers
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CN443326 and SCN457249. Pet. at 1. Meanwhile, the San Diego County Sheriff’s
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Department’s website reflects that Petitioner was arrested by the San Diego Sheriff Office,
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was booked on September 17, 2024, is being held on $101,000 bail, and that Petitioner’s
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cases, case numbers CN443326 and SCN457249, are set to be heard in San Diego Superior
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Court for further proceedings on November 15, 2024, on a misdemeanor charge of petty
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theft and a felony charge of second degree robbery pursuant to Cal. Penal Codes
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§§ 484–490.5 and 211, respectively. See Sheriff’s Who is in Jail, San Diego County
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Sheriff’s Department, https://apps.sdsheriff.net/wij/wij.aspx (last visited October 22,
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2024). While Petitioner alleges she is being held in custody in violation of the United
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States Constitution, she is not currently in custody pursuant to the judgment of a state court.
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Thus, any federal habeas challenge to Petitioner’s current detention is properly brought
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under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, not 28 U.S.C. § 2254. As the Ninth Circuit has explained:
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Section 2254 is properly understood as “in effect implement(ing)
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the general grant of habeas corpus authority found in § 2241, as
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long as the person is in custody pursuant to the judgment of a
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state court, and not in state custody for some other reason, such
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as pre-conviction custody, custody awaiting extradition, or other
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forms of custody that are possible without a conviction.
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White v. Lambert, 370 F.3d 1002, 1006 (9th Cir. 2004) (quoting Walker v. O’Brien, 216
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F.3d 626, 633 (7th Cir. 2000) (additional citations omitted)).
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“Subject matter jurisdiction under the federal habeas corpus statute, 28 U.S.C.
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§ 2254(a), is limited to those persons ‘in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State.’”
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Brock v. Weston, 31 F.3d 887, 889 (9th Cir. 1994); see also 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(3). It is a
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jurisdictional requirement that, at the time a habeas petition is filed, “the habeas petitioner
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be ‘in custody’ under the conviction or sentence under attack.” Maleng v. Cook, 490 U.S.
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488, 490–91 (1989) (citing 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241(c)(3) & 2254(a)); see Carafas v. LaVallee,
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391 U.S. 234, 238 (1968).
Accordingly, if Petitioner seeks to challenge the
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24-CV-1939 JLS (KSC)
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constitutionality of her pre-trial detention, she must file a petition for a writ of habeas
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corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241, not 28 U.S.C. § 2254.
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CONCLUSION
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For the reasons discussed above, the Court DISMISSES the case without prejudice.
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For Petitioner’s convenience, the Clerk of Court is directed to send Petitioner a blank In
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Forma Pauperis Application and a blank 28 U.S.C. § 2241 Habeas Petition form
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together with a copy of this Order.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: October 25, 2024
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24-CV-1939 JLS (KSC)
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