Jones v. State of Nebraska

Filing 7

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: By July 3, 2015, Respondent must file a motion for summary judgment or state court records in support of an answer. The clerk's office is directed to set a pro se case management deadline in this case using the following text: July 3, 2015: deadline for Respondent to file state court records in support of answer or motion for summary judgment. If Respondent elects to file a motion for summary judgment, the following procedures as set forth in this order must be f ollowed by Respondent and Petitioner. If Respondent elects to file an answer, the following procedures as set forth in this order must be followed by Respondent and Petitioner. The clerk's office is directed to set a pro se case management dea dline in this case using the following text: August 3, 2015: check for Respondent's answer and separate brief. 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. Ordered by Senior Judge Joseph F. Bataillon. (Copy mailed to pro se party) (copy mailed to Nebraska Attorney General as directed)(ADB)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
RONALD J. JONES,
Petitioner,
v.
STATE OF NEBRASKA,
Respondent.

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8:15CV94

MEMORANDUM
AND ORDER

This matter is before the court on preliminary review of Petitioner Ronald
Jones’s (“Petitioner”) Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (Filing No. 1). Petitioner
set forth in his habeas corpus petition that he was convicted of three counts of sexual
assault of a child on November 16, 2007. Nebraska’s appellate courts upheld his
judgment of conviction on June 5, 2008. (Id. at CM/ECF pp. 1-2.)
It appears from the face of the habeas corpus petition that Petitioner’s claims
may be barred by the statute of limitations. See 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1). In order to
ensure a just and fair resolution of this matter, the court will enter the following order
progressing this matter to final resolution.
IT IS ORDERED that:
1.
The clerk’s office is directed to mail copies of this Memorandum and
Order and the habeas corpus petition to the Nebraska Attorney General by regular
first-class mail.
2.
By July 3, 2015, Respondent must file a motion for summary judgment
or state court records in support of an answer. The clerk’s office is directed to set a
pro se case management deadline in this case using the following text: July 3, 2015:

deadline for Respondent to file state court records in support of answer or motion for
summary judgment.
3.
If Respondent elects to file a motion for summary judgment, the
following procedures must be followed by Respondent and Petitioner:
A.

The motion for summary judgment must be accompanied by a
separate brief, submitted at the time the motion is filed.

B.

The motion for summary judgment must be supported by any state
court records that are necessary to support the motion. Those
records must be contained in a separate filing entitled:
“Designation of State Court Records in Support of Motion for
Summary Judgment.”

C.

Copies of the motion for summary judgment, the designation,
including state court records, and Respondent’s brief must be
served on Petitioner except that Respondent is only required to
provide Petitioner with a copy of the specific pages of the record
that are cited in Respondent’s 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 must 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 must file and serve a brief in
opposition to the motion for summary judgment. Petitioner may
not submit other documents unless directed to do so by the court.
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E.

No later than 30 days after Petitioner’s brief is filed, Respondent
must file and serve a reply brief. In the event that Respondent
elects not to file a reply brief, he should inform the court by filing
a notice stating that he will not file a reply brief and that the
motion is therefore fully submitted for decision.

F.

If the motion for summary judgment is denied, Respondent must
file an answer, a designation and a brief that complies with terms
of this order. (See the following paragraph.) The documents must
be filed no later than 30 days after the denial of the motion for
summary judgment. Respondent is warned that failure to file
an answer, a designation and a brief in a timely fashion may
result in the imposition of sanctions, including Petitioner’s
release.

4.
If Respondent elects to file an answer, the following procedures must be
followed by Respondent and Petitioner:
A.

By July 3, 2015, Respondent must file all state court records that
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 must be contained in a separate
filing entitled: “Designation of State Court Records in Support
of Answer.”

B.

No later than 30 days after the relevant state court records are
filed, Respondent must file an answer. The answer must be
accompanied by a separate brief, submitted at the time the answer
is filed. Both the answer and the brief must address all matters
germane to the case including, but not limited to, the merits of
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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.
C.

Copies of the answer, the designation, and Respondent’s brief
must be served on Petitioner at the time they are filed with the
court except that Respondent is only required to provide
Petitioner with a copy of the specific pages of the designated
record that are cited in Respondent’s 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 must set forth the documents
requested and the reasons the documents are relevant to the
cognizable claims.

D.

No later than 30 days after Respondent’s brief is filed, Petitioner
must file and serve a brief in response. Petitioner must not submit
any other documents unless directed to do so by the court.

E.

No later than 30 days after Petitioner’s brief is filed, Respondent
must file and serve a reply brief. In the event that Respondent
elects not to file a reply brief, he should inform the court by filing
a notice stating that he will not file a reply brief and that the
merits of the petition are therefore fully submitted for decision.

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F.

The clerk’s office is directed to set a pro se case management
deadline in this case using the following text: August 3, 2015:
check for Respondent’s answer and separate brief.

5.
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 20th day of May, 2015.
BY THE COURT:

s/ Joseph F. Bataillon
Senior 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.

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