Muse v. Houston

Filing 6

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER - Upon initial review of the Petition (Filing No. 1 ), the court preliminarily determines that Petitioner's claims, as set forth in this Memorandum and Order, are potentially cognizable in federal court. The Clerk of the co urt is directed to mail copies of this Memorandum and Order and the Petition to Respondents and the Nebraska Attorney General by regular first-class mail. By November 5, 2010, Respondents shall file a motion for summary judgment or state court record s in support of an answer. The Clerk of the court is directed to set a pro se case management deadline in this case using the following text: November 5, 2010: deadline for Respondents to file state court records in support of answer or motion for s ummary judgment. If Respondents elect to file an answer, by November 5, 2010, Respondents shall file all state court records which are relevant to the cognizable claims. The Clerk of the court is directed to set a pro se case management deadline in this case using the following text: December 5, 2010: check for Respondents to file answer and separate brief. No discovery shall be undertaken without leave of the court. Ordered by Judge Laurie Smith Camp. (Copy mailed to pro se party and as directed)(GJG)

-PRSE Muse v. Houston

Doc. 6

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA GARY MUSE, Petitioner, v. ROBERT HOUSTON, Respondent. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) 4:10CV3167

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

The court has conducted an initial review of the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (Filing No. 1) to determine whether the claims made by Petitioner are, when liberally construed, potentially cognizable in federal court. Liberally construed, Petitioner asserts four claims. Condensed and summarized for clarity, the claims asserted by Petitioner are: Claim One1: Petitioner was denied the effective assistance of counsel in violation of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments because trial counsel failed to object (1) when Petitioner entered a plea to an "unfiled" information and (2) to the admission of photographic evidence of knives. Claim Two2: Petitioner was denied the effective assistance of counsel in violation of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments because appellate counsel failed to (1) file a claim of judicial misconduct and (2) raise the issue of a state witnesses's methamphetamine addiction. Claim Three: Petitioner's conviction was obtained unconstitutionally because the prosecutor failed to disclose the results of a state witnesses's criminal history investigation. Petitioner's conviction was obtained in violation of the

Claim Four:

Claim One combines allegations in Grounds One and Two of the Petition. (Filing No. 1 at CM/ECF pp. 5, 7; Filing No. 1-1, Attach. 1 at CM/ECF pp. 5-7.)
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Claim Two combines allegations in Grounds One and Two of the Petition. (Id.)

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confrontation clause because the trial court prohibited Petitioner's trial counsel from cross- examining a state witness. (Filing No. 1 at CM/ECF pp. 5-10; Filing No. 1-1, Attach. 1 at CM/ECF pp. 5-11.) Liberally construed, the court preliminarily decides that Petitioner's claims are potentially cognizable in federal court. However, the court cautions that no determination has been made regarding the merits of these claims or any defenses thereto or whether there are procedural bars that will prevent Petitioner from obtaining the relief sought. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that: 1. Upon initial review of the Petition (Filing No. 1), the court preliminarily determines that Petitioner's claims, as set forth in this Memorandum and Order, are potentially cognizable in federal court. The Clerk of the court is directed to mail copies of this Memorandum and Order and the Petition to Respondents and the Nebraska Attorney General by regular first-class mail. By November 5, 2010, Respondents shall file a motion for summary judgment or state court records in support of an answer. The Clerk of the court is directed to set a pro se case management deadline in this case using the following text: November 5, 2010: deadline for Respondents to file state court records in support of answer or motion for summary judgment. If Respondents elect to file a motion for summary judgment, the following procedures shall be followed by Respondents and Petitioner: A. The motion for summary judgment shall be accompanied by a separate brief, submitted at the time of the filing of the motion. The motion for summary judgment shall be supported by such state court records as are necessary to support the motion. Those records shall be contained in a separate filing entitled: "Designation of State Court Records in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment." Copies of the motion for summary judgment, the designation, including state court records, and Respondents' brief shall be served upon Petitioner except that Respondents are only required to provide Petitioner with a copy of the specific pages of the record which are 2

2.

3.

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B.

C.

cited in the Respondents' brief. In the event that the designation of state court records is deemed insufficient by Petitioner, Petitioner may file a motion with the court requesting additional documents. Such motion shall set forth the documents requested and the reasons the documents are relevant to the cognizable claims. D. No later than 30 days following the filing of the motion for summary judgment, Petitioner shall file and serve a brief in opposition to the motion for summary judgment. Petitioner shall submit no other documents unless directed to do so by the court. No later than 30 days after the filing of Petitioner's brief, Respondents shall file and serve a reply brief. In the event that the Respondents elects not to file a reply brief, they should inform the court by filing a notice stating that they will not file a reply brief and that the motion is therefore fully submitted for decision. If the motion for summary judgment is denied, Respondents shall file an answer, a designation and a brief that complies with the terms of this order. (See the following paragraph.) The documents shall be filed no later than 30 days after the denial of the motion for summary judgment. Respondents are warned that the failure to file an answer, a designation and a brief in a timely fashion may result in the imposition of sanctions, including the release of the petitioner.

E.

F.

5.

If Respondents elect to file an answer, the following procedures shall be followed by Respondents and Petitioner: A. By November 5, 2010, Respondents shall file all state court records which are relevant to the cognizable claims. See, e.g., Rule 5(c)-(d) of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts. Those records shall be contained in a separate filing entitled: "Designation of State Court Records In Support of Answer." No later than 30 days after the filing of the relevant state court records, Respondents shall file an answer. The answer shall be accompanied by a separate brief, submitted at the time of the filing of the answer. Both the answer and brief shall address all matters germane to the case including, but not limited to, the merits of Petitioner's allegations that have survived initial review, and whether any claim is barred by a failure to exhaust state remedies, a procedural bar, non-retroactivity, a statute of limitations, or because the petition is an unauthorized second or successive petition. See, e.g., Rules 5(b) and 9 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts.

B.

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C.

Copies of the answer, the designation, and Respondents' brief shall be served upon Petitioner at the time they are filed with the court except that Respondents are only required to provide Petitioner with a copy of the specific pages of the designated record which are cited in Respondents' brief. In the event that the designation of state court records is deemed insufficient by Petitioner, Petitioner may file a motion with the court requesting additional documents. Such motion shall set forth the documents requested and the reasons the documents are relevant to the cognizable claims. No later than 30 days following the filing of Respondents' brief, Petitioner shall file and serve a brief in response. Petitioner shall submit no other documents unless directed to do so by the court. No later than 30 days after the filing of Petitioner's brief, Respondents shall file and serve a reply brief. In the event that Respondents elect not to file a reply brief, they should inform the court by filing a notice stating that they will not file a reply brief and that the merits of the petition are therefore fully submitted for decision. The Clerk of the court is directed to set a pro se case management deadline in this case using the following text: December 5, 2010: check for Respondents to file answer and separate brief.

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No discovery shall be undertaken without leave of the court. See Rule 6 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts.

DATED this 23rd day of September, 2010. BY THE COURT:

s/Laurie Smith Camp United States District Judge

*This opinion may contain hyperlinks to other documents or Web sites. The U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska does not endorse, recommend, approve, or guarantee any third parties or the services or products they provide on their Web sites. Likewise, the court has no agreements with any of these third parties or their Web sites. The court accepts no responsibility for the availability or functionality of any hyperlink. Thus, the fact that a hyperlink ceases to work or directs the user to some other site does not affect the opinion of the court. 4