Donahoo v. Skipper

Filing 26

OPINION AND ORDER DIRECTING THE CLERK OF THE COURT TO CHANGE PETITIONERS ADDRESS ON THE DOCKET SHEET, VACATING THE OPINION AND ORDER HOLDING IN ABEYANCE THE PETITION FOR A WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS AND DIRECTING THE CLERK OF THE COURT TO MAIL A COPY OF THAT ORDER (ECF No. 23) TO PETITIONER, AND GRANTING PETITIONER AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE HIS POST-CONVICTION MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM JUDGMENT WITH THE STATE COURT. Signed by District Judge Sean F. Cox. (EVra)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
EDDIE LEON DONAHOO,
Petitioner,

Civil Number 2:22-CV-11019
HONORABLE SEAN F. COX

v.
JAMES CORRIGAN,
Respondent.
_________________________________/
OPINION AND ORDER DIRECTING THE CLERK OF THE COURT TO
CHANGE PETITIONER’S ADDRESS ON THE DOCKET SHEET,
VACATING THE OPINION AND ORDER HOLDING IN ABEYANCE THE
PETITION FOR A WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS AND DIRECTING THE
CLERK OF THE COURT TO MAIL A COPY OF THAT ORDER (ECF No.
23) TO PETITIONER, AND GRANTING PETITIONER AN EXTENSION
OF TIME TO FILE HIS POST-CONVICTION MOTION FOR RELIEF
FROM JUDGMENT WITH THE STATE COURT
Eddie Leon Donahoo, (“Petitioner”), currently confined at the Lakeland
Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Michigan, filed a pro se petition for a writ of
habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, in which he challenges his conviction
for second-degree murder, Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.317. On March 5, 2024, this
Court’s predecessor held the case in abeyance and administratively closed the case
so that Petitioner could return to the state courts to exhaust some of the claims in his
petition. Petitioner was given sixty (60) days to file his post-conviction motion for

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relief from judgment in the state court. Donahoo v. Corrigan, No. 2:22-CV-11019,
2024 WL 948293 (E.D. Mich. Mar. 5, 2024).
Petitioner has sent a letter to the Court (ECF No. 25), indicating that he never
received a copy of Respondent’s answer or any other orders from the Court.
Petitioner’s allegation is confirmed by the fact that the docket sheet indicates that a
copy of the opinion and order holding the petition in abeyance was returned as
undeliverable to the Court. (ECF No. 24).
Local Rule 11.2 provides a court in the Eastern District of Michigan the
authority to dismiss a case for failure to keep the court apprised of address changes.
A habeas petitioner has the duty to inform the court of any address changes. See
Thompkins v. Metrish, No. 2:07–CV–12; 2009 WL 2595604, *1 n. 1 (W.D. Mich.
Aug. 20, 2009) (quoting Kelly v. Wal–Mart, Inc., No. 7:07–CV–0089; 2007 WL
2847068, at *1 (N.D.N.Y. Sept. 26, 2007). Petitioner has done so, at least, implicitly,
in that the return address on the envelope for the letter is the Lakeland Correctional
Facility. The Clerk of the Court is directed to update the docket sheet to reflect that
Petitioner is now at the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Michigan.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b) allows a court to reissue an opinion and order where a
party to the litigation did not receive timely notice of the judgment or order. See e.g.
Williams v. Arn, 654 F. Supp. 241, 246 (N.D. Ohio 1987). The opinion and order
holding the petition in abeyance of March 5, 2024 (ECF No. 23) is vacated; the Court
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reinstates the opinion entered on that date nunc pro tunc as of the date of this order.
See Id., at 248.
Petitioner is granted a sixty (60) day extension of time to file his motion for
relief from judgment with the state trial court. A federal district court has the power
to extend the stay of a habeas petition, particularly where the respondent does not
oppose the extension of the stay. See e.g. Roberts v. Norris, 415 F.3d 816, 819 (8th
Cir. 2005).
The Clerk of the Court is directed to mail a copy of the “Opinion and Order
Holding in Abeyance the Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus and Administratively
Closing the Case” (ECF No. 23) and a copy of this order by first-class mail to
Petitioner at the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Michigan. Petitioner
has sixty days from the date of this order to file his state post-conviction motion for
relief from judgment with the state trial court. If Petitioner fails to file a motion for
relief from judgment with the state court by that date, the Court will dismiss his
petition without prejudice.
If Petitioner files a motion for relief from judgment, he shall notify this Court
that such motion papers have been filed in state court. The case will then be held in
abeyance pending Petitioner’s exhaustion of the claims. Petitioner shall file a
motion to lift the stay using the same caption and case number within sixty (60) days
after the conclusion of the state court post-conviction proceedings. Petitioner is
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free at that time to file an amended habeas petition containing the arguments that he
raised before the state courts with respect to these claims.
SO ORDERED.
March 5, 2025

s/Sean F. Cox
Sean F. Cox
U. S. District Judge

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