Rush v. Winn

Filing 75

OPINION and ORDER Denying the Motion for Reconsideration re 73 . Signed by District Judge Denise Page Hood. (LSau)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
DARIUS RUSH,
Petitioner,

Case Number 2:20-CV-11540
HONORABLE DENISE PAGE HOOD

v.
ADAM DOUGLAS,
Respondent.
_________________________________/
OPINION AND ORDER DENYING THE
MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION (ECF No. 73)
Petitioner, Darius Rush sought a writ of habeas corpus, pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 2254. This Court granted the petition, finding that petitioner had
been constructively denied the assistance of trial counsel and that appellate
counsel had been ineffective for failing to raise this claim on his appeal of
right. Rush v. Douglas, No. 2:20-CV-11540, 2023 WL 4874774 (E.D. Mich.
July 31, 2023).
Respondent subsequently filed a notice of appeal with the Sixth Circuit.
Rush v. Douglas, No. 2:20-CV-11540 (ECF No. 61). Petitioner filed a motion
to be released on bond pending the appeal. This Court denied the motion.
(ECF No. 71).
Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration. For the reasons that
follow, the motion is DENIED.
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Motions for reconsideration of final orders and judgments are no longer
permitted under Local Rule 7.1 but must be brought under Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure 59(e) or 60(b). See Ackerman v. Washington, No. CV 1314137, 2021 WL 5782896, at *1, n. 1 (E.D. Mich. Dec. 7, 2021)(citing E.D.
Mich. LR 7.1(h)(1)).

Petitioner is proceeding pro se; the motion for

reconsideration is construed as a motion to alter or amend the judgment filed
under Fed. R. Civ. P. 59, since both motions are analogous. Cf. Hence v.
Smith, 49 F. Supp. 2d 547, 550 (E.D. Mich. 1999)(treating motion to alter or
to amend judgment filed by a pro se habeas petitioner as a motion for
reconsideration filed under Local Rule 7.1).
The decision of whether to grant a motion to alter or amend the
judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 59 is discretionary with the district court.
Davis by Davis v. Jellico Cmty. Hosp., Inc., 912 F.2d 129, 132 (6th Cir. 1990).
A motion to alter or amend the judgment will generally be granted if the
district court made a clear error of law, if there is an intervening change in
the controlling law, or if granting the motion will prevent manifest injustice.
GenCorp, Inc. v. Am. Int’l Underwriters, 178 F.3d 804, 834 (6th Cir. 1999).
“A Rule 59 motion ‘may not be used to relitigate old matters, or to raise
arguments or present evidence that could have been raised prior to the entry
of judgment.’” Brumley v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 909 F.3d 834, 841 (6th
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Cir. 2018)(quoting Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, 554 U.S. 471, 486, n. 5
(2008)(additional quotation omitted)). In addition, a Rule 59(e) motion to
alter or amend the judgment is not a substitute for an appeal. See Johnson
v. Henderson, 229 F. Supp. 2d 793, 796 (N.D. Ohio 2002).
Petitioner claims that this Court improperly considered his prior
criminal record and his history of prison misconducts in denying him release
on bond. Petitioner does not deny that he has prior convictions or prison
misconducts but only argues that some of the prison misconducts were minor
misconducts, not major misconducts. Petitioner acknowledges getting into
fights while incarcerated, but indicated that “respondent fails to realize this is
Prison.” (ECF No. 73, PageID.3149). Petitioner further notes that this Court
considered the fact that he had failed several drug tests in prison. Petitioner
in his motion does not deny testing positive for illegal drugs while in prison,
but claims that this happened only one time. Lastly, petitioner denies that he
was on parole when he was charged with the current offense that he was in
prison for, only that he was on probation instead.
Although petitioner quibbles with the details of the Court’s findings, he
acknowledges having a prior criminal record, was on probation when he was
charged with the current offense, had a history of prison misconducts,
including for fighting, and that he had used illegal drugs in prison, as evinced
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by the positive drug test that he admits to. Petitioner’s motion does not alter
this Court’s finding that petitioner is not entitled to release on bond. The
motion for reconsideration will be denied, because petitioner merely presents
issues which were already ruled upon by this Court, either expressly or by
reasonable implication, when the Court denied the motion for bond. See
Hence v. Smith, 49 F. Supp. 2d at 553.
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that petitioner’s motion for
reconsideration (ECF No. 73) is DENIED and the Requests/Letters/Notices
(ECF Nos. 63, 72, 74) regarding requests for bond pending appeal are
DENIED.
s/Denise Page Hood
Denise Page Hood
United States District Judge
Dated: May 10, 2024

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