Helfrich v. Neven et al

Filing 3

ORDER Granting Plaintiff's 1 Motion/Application for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis. The Clerk of Court is directed to file the 1 -1 Petition and add Adam Paul Laxalt as counsel for Respondents. Respondents need not file a response. The petition for a writ of habeas corpus is Denied and the Judge declines to issue a certificate of appealability. Plaintiff's 2 Ex Parte Motion for Appointment of Counsel is Denied as moot. The Clerk of Court is directed to close this case. Signed by Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey on 11/1/2016. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - SLD)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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Peter J. Helfrich,

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Petitioner

2:16-cv-01499-JAD-VCF
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Order Granting Application to Proceed
in forma pauperis, Denying Petition and
Motion for Appointment of Counsel,
and Closing Case

v.
D.W. Neven, et al.,

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Respondents

[ECF Nos. 1, 2]

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Nevada state prison inmate Peter J. Helfrich has submitted an application to proceed in forma

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pauperis, a petition for habeas corpus, and an ex parte motion for appointment of counsel.

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Helfrich’s IFP application and supporting documentation show that he is unable to pay the filing fee,

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so I grant his application to proceed in forma pauperis, direct the Clerk of Court to file and serve it

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on respondents, and screen his petition under Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in

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the United States District Courts. Because it plainly appears from the face of the petition that

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Helfrich is not entitled to relief, I deny the petition and decline to issue a certificate of appealability,

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deny his motion for appointment of counsel as moot, and close this case.

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Background

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Helfrich challenges the calculation of his good-time credits under NRS § 209.4465. I take

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judicial notice of another habeas action filed by Helfrich in this court, Case No. 2:16-cv-00312-RFB-

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NJK, including the state-court record exhibits attached to the petition in that case.1 These records

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show that in August 2013, Helfrich pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for a killing that

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occurred seven months earlier; he was sentenced to 48–120 months in prison.

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In his sole ground for relief, Helfrich alleges that credits toward his sentence are not being

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applied to reduce his minimum term of imprisonment as required under NRS §209.4465. Helfrich is

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incorrect. The version of NRS §209.4465 that was in effect when Helfrich committed the offense for

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Helfrich v. State of Nevada, Case No. 2:16-cv-00312-RFB-NJK, ECF No. 1-5 at 49–55.
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which he is in prison provided that any credits must be deducted from the maximum term imposed

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by the sentence—not the minimum—and they do not apply to eligibility for parole.2

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Helfrich’s citation to the Nevada Supreme Court’s unpublished decision in Vonseydewitz v.

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Legrand3 is unpersuasive. Vonseydewitz committed his crimes between May 1, 1996, and August

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31, 2006—before the version of NRS §209.4465 that Helfrich was sentenced under took effect on

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October 1, 2007. The version that applied to Vonseydewitz did not contain subsection 8, which

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prohibits credits earned by an offender who has been convicted of a category A or B felony from

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applying to eligibility for parole or from being deducted from the minimum term imposed by a

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sentence before parole eligibility.4 None of the Nevada Supreme Court’s reasons for holding that

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Vonseydewitz was entitled to a deduction from his minimum sentence apply to Helfrich because

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§ 209.4465(8) was part of the statute when Helfrich committed his crime. That provision bars

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application of credits to the minimum term of Helfrich’s sentence for a category B felony. Helfrich’s

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sole ground for relief thus fails on its face, so I deny his petition and his motion for appointment of

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counsel. And because reasonsable jurists would not find my conclusion debatable or wrong, I

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decline to issue him a certificate of appealability.

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Conclusion

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that Helfrich’s
application to proceed in forma pauperis [ECF No. 1] is GRANTED.

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The Clerk of Court is directed to FILE the petition [ECF No. 1-1], add Adam Paul Laxalt,

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Attorney General for the State of Nevada, as counsel for respondents, and electronically SERVE on

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respondents a copy of the petition and this order. Respondents need not file a response.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the petition for a writ of habeas corpus [ECF No. 1-1] is
DENIED, and I decline to issue a certificate of appealability.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Helfrich’s ex parte motion for appointment of counsel

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NEV. REV. STAT. §209.4465 (2007).

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Vonseydewitz v. Legrand, 2015 WL 3936827 (Nev. June 24, 2015).

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Vonseydewitz, 2015 WL 3936827, at *2–3.

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Page 2 of 3

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[ECF No. 2] is DENIED as moot.

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The Clerk of Court is directed to CLOSE THIS CASE.

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Dated: November of October, 2016.
Dated this 31st day1, 2016.

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_________________________________
________________________
_ ____________ _
__ ___ ___
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Jennifer A. Dorsey
Jennifer A. Dorsey
n
r
United States District Judge
United States
ted ta
at
ct d
ct Judge

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