Edwards v. Williams et al
Filing
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ORDER granting 21 Motion to Dismiss. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that respondents have 30 days to file an answer to petitioner's remaining ground for relief: 1(a). Signed by Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey on 5/17/2021. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - HAM)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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Jareal Edwards,
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v.
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Case No. 2:15-cv-00673-JAD-NJK
Petitioner
Jo Gentry, et al.,
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and related case
Respondents
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Jareal Edwards,
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v.
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Case No. 2:20-cv-00520-JAD-DJA
Petitioner
Order Granting Motion to Dismiss All But
Ground 1(a) of the Petition
Warden Howell, et al.,
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[ECF No. 21]
Respondents
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Petitioner Jareal Edwards brings his pro se second amended petition for writ of habeas
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corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 1 to challenge his conviction and sentence for conspiracy to
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commit robbery, robbery with use of a deadly weapon, and first-degree kidnapping.
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Respondents move to dismiss grounds 1(b), 1(c), 2, and 3 of his second amended petition as
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either procedurally defaulted, untimely, or not cognizable in federal habeas proceedings, leaving
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unchallenged only ground 1(a). 2 Because Edwards’s claims are procedurally barred or not
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cognizable in federal habeas proceedings, I grant respondents’ motion and dismiss grounds 1(b),
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1(c), 2, and 3. This case thus proceeds only on ground 1(a), Edwards’s claim that his trial
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counsel was ineffective for failing to file an appeal.
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ECF No. 19.
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ECF No. 21.
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Background
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A.
Procedural History
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Edwards pled guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery with use of a deadly
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weapon, and first-degree kidnapping. 3 The state district court sentenced Edwards to consecutive
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terms of 12–48 months; 26-120 months; and 12–120 months for the use of a deadly weapon, in
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addition to a concurrent term of 60–180 months. Following sentencing, Edwards filed a motion
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to withdraw guilty plea 4 and the state district court denied his motion finding his plea was
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entered freely and voluntarily. 5 On August 13, 2013, the state district court entered the judgment
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of conviction. 6 Edwards did not file a direct appeal.
Edwards then filed a state habeas petition seeking post-conviction relief alleging a single
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claim that his counsel was ineffective for failing to file a direct appeal. 7 The state district court
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denied his petition 8 and the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed. 9 Edwards filed his federal habeas
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petition on April 13, 2015. 10 Edwards, however, did not demonstrate that he exhausted all
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grounds alleged in his petition in state court. I directed Edwards to file an amended petition
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demonstrating exhaustion of the grounds alleged in the federal petition, 11 and filed one on
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December 3, 2015. 12 Because that amended petition contained both exhausted and unexhausted
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Ex. 23. Exhibits referenced in this order are exhibits to respondents’ motion to dismiss and are
found at ECF Nos. 22–24.
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Ex. 17.
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Ex. 24.
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Ex. 23.
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Ex. 25.
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Ex. 31.
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Ex. 49.
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ECF No. 1.
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See ECF No. 4.
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ECF No. 6.
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claims, I instructed Edwards to elect how to proceed. 13 I then granted Edwards’s motion for stay
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and abeyance pending exhaustion of his unexhausted claims. 14
Edwards filed another pro se state habeas petition and counseled supplemental state
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petition in state court. 15 The state district court denied the petition finding his claims
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procedurally barred. 16 The Nevada Court of Appeals affirmed. 17 On March 12, 2020, Edwards
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filed a new federal habeas petition, which was construed as a request to reopen his habeas case
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and to file an amended petition. 18 I instructed the Clerk of the Court to reopen this case and
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designate the new petition as Edwards’s second amended petition, which alleges the following
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grounds for relief:
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Ground 1(a): Trial counsel was ineffective for failing to file an appeal.
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Ground 1(b): Trial counsel was ineffective for failing to ensure the State followed
through with the agreement to allow Edwards to withdraw his plea.
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Ground 1(c): Trial counsel was ineffective for failing to contest Edwards’s dual
convictions for kidnapping and robbery.
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Ground 2: Trial counsel failed to challenge the state’s use of cell-site location
information without first obtaining a warrant.
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Ground 3: Edwards is entitled to equitable tolling based on counsel’s failure to
properly represent him.
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ECF No. 10.
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ECF No. 15.
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Ex. 82.
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Ex. 90.
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Ex. 104.
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ECF Nos. 18, 19.
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Discussion
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A.
Grounds 1(b), 1(c), and 2 are procedurally barred.
Federal courts are barred from considering a state prisoner’s habeas claim if the state
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courts denied his claim based on an independent and adequate state procedural rule. 19 Nevada’s
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one-year statute of limitation 20 for post-conviction petitions and prohibition on second or
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successive post-conviction petitions are independent and adequate state procedural rules as
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applied in non-capital cases. 21 When a petitioner “procedurally defaults” a federal claim, judicial
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review is barred unless he can show either: (1) “cause for the default and actual prejudice as a
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result of the alleged violation of federal law,” or (2) “that failure to consider the claims will
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result in a fundamental miscarriage of justice.” 22
To demonstrate cause, the petitioner must show that some external and objective factor
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impeded his efforts to comply with the procedural rule. 23 Ignorance or inadvertence does not
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establish cause. 24 To show prejudice, a petitioner must prove not merely that the error created a
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possibility of prejudice, but that the error worked to his actual and substantial disadvantage,
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infecting the entire proceeding with constitutional error. 25 To demonstrate a fundamental
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miscarriage of justice, a petitioner must show that the constitutional error complained of
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probably resulted in the conviction of an actually innocent person. 26 This is a narrow exception
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Edwards v. Carpenter, 529 U.S. 446, 454–55 (2000).
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NRS 34.726; NRS 34.810(2).
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See, e.g., Williams v. Filson, 908 F.3d 546, 580 (9th Cir. 2018); Bargas v. Burns, 179 F.3d
1207, 1211–14 (9th Cir. 1999).
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Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 750 (1991); McQuiggin v. Perkins, 569 U.S. 383, 386
(2013) (the miscarriage of justice exception ensures “that federal constitutional errors do not
result in the incarceration of innocent persons”).
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Maples v. Thomas, 565 U.S. 266, 280–81 (2012).
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Murray v. Carrier, 477 U.S. 478, 486–87 (1986).
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Carrier, 477 U.S. at 494; Bradford v. Davis, 923 F.3d 599, 613 (9th Cir. 2019).
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Boyd v. Thompson, 147 F.3d 1124, 1127 (9th Cir. 1998).
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and it is reserved for extraordinary cases only. 27
Edwards’s claims in grounds 1(b), 1(c), and 2 28 are procedurally barred. In ground 1(b),
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Edwards alleges that counsel rendered ineffective assistance for failing to ensure that the
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prosecution followed through with the agreement that Edwards would be allowed to withdraw
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his guilty plea. 29 In ground 1(c), Edwards alleges that counsel rendered ineffective assistance for
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failing to contest his robbery and kidnapping convictions that arose from the same course of
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conduct. 30 In Ground 2, Edwards alleges that he was denied effective assistance of counsel
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because counsel failed to challenge the State’s use of cell-site location information without
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obtaining a warrant and for cumulative errors of trial and appellate counsel. 31 Edwards did not
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file a direct appeal and raised these three grounds for the first time in state proceedings in his
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second state habeas petition. 32 The Nevada Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of these claims
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as procedurally barred under NRS 34.726(1) and NRS 34.810(2). 33
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The Nevada Court of Appeals’ determination that grounds 1(b), 1(c), and 2 were
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procedurally barred under NRS 34.726(1) and NRS 34.810(2) was an independent and adequate
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ground to affirm the denial of the claims in Edwards’s second state habeas petition. The burden
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thus falls on Edwards to prove good cause for the default and actual prejudice. 34 Here, Edwards
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does not argue that he can show cause and prejudice or actual innocence sufficient to overcome
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Sawyer v. Whitley, 505 U.S. 333, 340 (1992).
Respondents also argue that Ground 2 is untimely. I will address Ground 2 in relation to
procedural default. See Cooper v. Neven, 641 F.3d 322, 327–28 (9th Cir. 2011) (stating that
when a particular issue is dispositive, a district court “need not consider alternative reasons for
dismissing the petition.”).
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ECF No. 19 at 3.
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Id.
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Id. at 5.
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Ex. 82.
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Ex. 104.
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See NRS 34.726(1); NRS. 34.810(3).
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this procedural bar. I thus dismiss grounds 1(b), 1(c), and 2 as procedurally barred from federal
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habeas review.
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B.
Ground 3 is not cognizable in federal habeas.
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A state prisoner is entitled to federal habeas relief only if he is being held in custody in
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violation of the constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States. 35 Unless an issue of federal
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constitutional or statutory law is implicated by the facts presented, the claim is not cognizable
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under federal habeas corpus. 36 Claims based on conclusory allegations are not a sufficient basis
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for federal habeas relief. 37 Rule 2(c) of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United
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States District Courts (Habeas Rules) requires a federal habeas petition to specify all grounds for
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relief and “state the facts supporting each ground.”
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In ground 3, Edwards alleges that he is “entitled to equitable tolling because his counsel
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failed to properly represent him.” 38 Respondents assert that ground 3 is not cognizable because
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it does not allege a constitutional violation. Respondents are correct that ground 3 does not
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present an actionable habeas claim based on constitutional error. Further, a habeas petitioner
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must allege enough facts that allow the court to draw a reasonable inference that he is entitled to
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relief. 39 Particularly in habeas cases, legal conclusions without facts are not sufficient – “it is the
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relationship of the facts to the claim asserted that is important.” 40 Ground 3 does not contain
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either direct or inferential allegations showing entitlement to habeas relief. Therefore, I dismiss
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ground 3 for failure to state a claim for which federal habeas relief may be granted.
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28 U.S.C § 2254(a).
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Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 68 (1991).
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Mayle v. Felix, 545 U.S. 644, 655–56 (2005).
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ECF No. 19 at 7.
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See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009).
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Mayle, 545 U.S. at 655 (noting that Habeas Rule 2(c) “is more demanding” than the pleading
rule for other civil cases).
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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that respondents’ motion to dismiss [ECF No. 21] is
GRANTED as follows:
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1. Grounds 1(b), 1(c), and 2 are DISMISSED as procedurally barred;
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2. Ground 3 is DISMISSED as non-cognizable in federal habeas and/or for failure to
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state a claim.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that respondents have 30 days to file an answer to
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petitioner’s remaining ground for relief: 1(a). The answer must contain all substantive and
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procedural arguments as to all surviving grounds of the petition and must comply with Rule 5 of
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the Rules Governing Proceedings in the United States District Courts under 28 U.S.C. §2254.
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Petitioner will then have 30 days following service of respondents’ answer to file a reply.
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_________________________________
U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey
Dated: May 17, 2021
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