Rios v. Secretary, Department of Corrections et al

Filing 16

ORDER denying 9 Motion for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply ; granting 10 motion to stay. Petitioner shall file a motion to reopen this case within THIRTY (30) DAYS after a final decision has been rendered in the state court. Signed by Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. on 2/13/2017. (VMF)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
ORLANDO DIVISION
DENNIS JUNIOR RIOS,
Petitioner,
v.

Case No: 6:16-v-430-Orl-37KRS

SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS, et al.,
Respondents.

/
ORDER

This cause is before the Court on Petitioner’s Motion to Stay (Doc. 10).
Respondents oppose the motion (Doc. 13). The Supreme Court of the United States has
set forth the law explaining when a district court should grant a motion to stay a petition
for writ of habeas corpus brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254:
[I]t likely would be an abuse of discretion for a district court to deny a stay
and to dismiss a mixed petition if the petitioner had good cause for his
failure to exhaust, his unexhausted claims are potentially meritorious, and
there is no indication that the petitioner engaged in intentionally dilatory
litigation tactics. In such circumstances, the district court should stay, rather
than dismiss, the mixed petition.
Rhines v. Weber, 544 U.S. 269, 277-78 (2005).
Petitioner seeks a stay of the instant proceedings because he is attempting to
exhaust one ground of his habeas petition (Doc. 10- at 2-3) The Court concludes that
Petitioner has provided good cause for staying these proceedings. See Rhines, 544 U.S. at
277-78.

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Accordingly, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED as follows:
1.

Petitioner’s Motion to Stay (Doc. 10) is GRANTED. This case is STAYED

pending conclusion of Petitioner’s state court proceedings.
2.

Petitioner shall file a motion to reopen this case within THIRTY (30) DAYS

after a final decision has been rendered in the state court.
3.

Petitioner’s Motion for Extension of Time (Doc. 9) is DENIED without

prejudice.
4.

The Clerk of Court is directed to administratively close the case.

5.

Petitioner is advised that the failure to comply with the requirements of this

Order may result in dismissal of this case without further notice.
DONE AND ORDERED in Orlando, Florida on February 13th, 2017.

Copies furnished to:
OrlP-3 3/27
Dennis Junior Rios
Counsel of Record

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