Taylor v. Ste. Genevieve County Jail

Filing 2

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall mail to Petitioner a copy of the Court's forms "Petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State Custody" and "Motion to P roceed In Forma Pauperis and Affidavit in Support - Habeas Cases." IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if Petitioner wants to pursue habeas relief in this Court under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, he should file an amended petition on the Court-provided form wi thin thirty (30) days of the date of this Order. Petitioner is advised that his amended petition will take the place of his original petition and will be the only pleading that this Court will review. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Petitioner shall eithe r pay the $5 filing fee or submit the "Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis and Affidavit in Support - Habeas Cases" within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order. IT IS FINALLY ORDERED that if Petitioner fails to comply with this Order, the Court will dismiss this action without prejudice and without further notice. Amended/Supplemental Pleadings due by 4/11/2025. Signed by Magistrate Judge Stephen R. Welby on 3/12/2025. (JMC)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION
ROBERT TAYLOR,
Petitioner,
v.
STE. GENEVIEVE COUNTY JAIL,
Respondent.

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No. 1:25-cv-00043-SRW

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court upon review of self-represented Petitioner Robert Taylor’s
“Motion under 28 U.S.C. §2255 to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence by a Person in Federal
Custody.” ECF No. 1. Based on this document, Petitioner initiated this action to contest a
criminal sentence issued from a Missouri state court on January 17, 2025. Id. at 1 (citing case
number “22SF-CR00502-01”). Independent review of Plaintiff’s criminal case on Missouri
Case.net, the State of Missouri’s online docketing system, shows that Plaintiff Robert William
Taylor was sentenced on January 17, 2025, to a total term of 94 years with the Missouri
Department of Corrections. State v. Taylor, No. 22SF-CR00502-01 (24th Jud. Cir. filed August
12, 2022).
Section 2255 relief is only available to prisoners in custody under the sentence of a
United States Court. 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Because Petitioner is not in federal custody and he does
not seek relief from a federal sentence, this case is not properly brought under 28 U.S.C. § 2255.
Instead, it appears that Petitioner is a convicted and sentenced state court prisoner seeking relief
from a state court judgment. Such relief is properly sought under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. As such, the
Clerk of Court will be directed to send Petitioner a blank “Petition Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for

Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State Custody.” Petitioner should file an amended petition
on this Court form within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order, if he wishes for this case to
proceed. See E.D. Mo. Local Rule 2.06(A) (“All actions brought by self-represented plaintiffs or
petitioners should be filed on Court-provided forms where applicable.”).
Petitioner should be aware that in order to bring a habeas action pursuant to § 2254
before this Court, he must have exhausted his state court remedies prior to doing so. See
Frederickson v. Wood, 87 F.3d 244, 245 (8th Cir. 1996). Given that Petitioner was just sentenced
a few months ago, it seems unlikely that he has exhausted all state court appeals. Petitioner is
warned that if he files a motion under § 2254, any future § 2254 motions will be subject to the
restrictions on filing second or successive motions. That is, Petitioner will not be permitted to
bring a second or successive § 2254 motion unless the United States Court of Appeals for the
Eighth Circuit certifies that the second or successive motion meets the requirements set forth in
28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(A).
Finally, Petitioner has neither paid the filing fee nor submitted a motion to proceed
without prepaying fees or costs. Local Rule 2.01(B) authorizes the Clerk of Court to refuse to
receive any pleadings “until the applicable statutory fee is paid, except in cases accompanied by
a completed application to proceed in forma pauperis.” The Court will direct the Clerk of Court
to send Petitioner the Court’s form “Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis and Affidavit in
Support – Habeas Cases.” Petitioner must either pay the $5 filing fee or submit this form motion
within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall mail to Petitioner a copy of
the Court’s forms “Petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in

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State Custody” and “Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis and Affidavit in Support – Habeas
Cases.”
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if Petitioner wants to pursue habeas relief in this
Court under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, he should file an amended petition on the Court-provided form
within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order. Petitioner is advised that his amended petition
will take the place of his original petition and will be the only pleading that this Court will
review.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Petitioner shall either pay the $5 filing fee or submit
the “Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis and Affidavit in Support – Habeas Cases” within
thirty (30) days of the date of this Order.
IT IS FINALLY ORDERED that if Petitioner fails to comply with this Order, the Court
will dismiss this action without prejudice and without further notice.
Dated this 12th day of March, 2025.

STEPHEN R. WELBY
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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