Ronk v. Hall et al

Filing 51

ORDER granting 50 Motion for Additional Time to File State Court Successive Petition for Post-Conviction Relief. The deadline for filing the petition is thirty days after disposition of Ronk's anticipated motion for funding. Signed by District Judge Halil S. Ozerden on September 9, 2021 (Rushing, Terryl)

Case 1:19-cv-00346-HSO Document 51 Filed 09/09/21 Page 1 of 2

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
SOUTHERN DIVISION
TIMOTHY RONK
v.

PETITIONER
CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:19-CV-346-HSO

BURL CAIN, Commissioner, Mississippi
Department of Corrections and
LYNN FITCH, Attorney General of the
State of Mississippi

RESPONDENTS

ORDER GRANTING IN PART MOTION FOR
ADDITIONAL TIME TO FILE STATE COURT
SUCCESSIVE PETITION FOR POST-CONVICTION RELIEF
This matter is before the Court on the Motion for Additional Time to File State Court
Successive Petition for Post-Conviction Relief [Doc. #50] filed by the Petitioner, Timothy Ronk.
The Court has already extended this deadline several times, so that counsel could seek
appointment in state court. Ronk seeks to return to state court to exhaust claims of
ineffectiveness of post-conviction counsel, a right created by the Mississippi Supreme Court in
Grayson v. State, 118 So. 3d 118, 125-26 (Miss. 2013).
In order to pursue his state claim, Ronk’s attorneys filed a motion for appointment in
state court. That motion was opposed by the State, on grounds that Ronk’s attorneys had already
been appointed for his federal habeas proceedings. The Mississippi Supreme Court denied the
motion, but without prejudice to Ronk’s counsel seeking appointment there if funding is not
available from this Court.
Ronk now asks this Court to set a deadline of December 6, 2021, within which to file his
successive petition for post-conviction relief. He anticipates filing a motion with this Court,
seeking funding to litigate the state law claims, by September 17, 2021. After that motion is

Case 1:19-cv-00346-HSO Document 51 Filed 09/09/21 Page 2 of 2

presented, however, the Court will likely expedite a ruling, and a deadline in December seems
excessively distant, particularly given the many extensions already given. For this reason, the
Court will grant the Motion, but the deadline for filing a successive post-conviction petition will
be thirty days after entry of an order disposing of Ronk’s anticipated motion for funding.
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that the Motion for Additional Time to File State
Court Successive Petition for Post-Conviction Relief [Doc. #50] is GRANTED, but only to the
extent that the deadline for filing the petition is thirty days after the entry of an order disposing of
Ronk’s anticipated motion for funding in this Court.
It is so ordered, this the 9th day of September, 2021.

s/ Halil Suleyman Ozerden

HALIL SULEYMAN OZERDEN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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