Azcarate v. Williams et al

Filing 52

ORDER Granting 51 Motion to Extend Time to File Reply re 50 Answer to 14 Amended Habeas Petition (First Request). Replies due by 2/26/2021. Signed by Magistrate Judge Elayna J. Youchah on 12/21/2020. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - MR)

Case 2:17-cv-02190-RFB-EJY Document 52 Filed 12/21/20 Page 1 of 4

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Rene L. Valladares
Federal Public Defender
Nevada State Bar No. 11479
*C.B. Kirschner
Assistant Federal Public Defender
Pennsylvania State Bar No. 92998
411 E. Bonneville Ave., Ste. 250
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
[phone]
[e-mail]
*Attorney for Petitioner Ray Antonio Azcarate

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U NITED S TATES D ISTRICT C OURT
D ISTRICT OF N EVADA

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Ray Antonio Azcarate,
Petitioner,

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v.
Brian Williams, et al.,
Respondents.

Case No. 2:17-cv-02190-RFB-EJY
Unopposed Motion for Extension
of Time to File Reply to Answer to
First Amended Petition
(First Request)

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Petitioner Ray Azcarate, by and through counsel, C.B. Kirschner, Assistant
Federal Public Defender, moves this Court for an extension of time of sixty (60) days
from December 28, 2020, to and including February 26, 2021, to file the Reply to
Respondents’ Answer to First Amended Petition.

Case 2:17-cv-02190-RFB-EJY Document 52 Filed 12/21/20 Page 2 of 4

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POINTS AND AUTHORITIES

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1.

On or about November 8, 2007, Ray Antonio Azcarate was sentenced to

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two, consecutive sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole,

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following his conviction for murder with use of a deadly weapon. On August 4, 2017,

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he filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 by a

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Person in State Custody (Not Sentenced to Death). ECF No. 1-1.

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2.

This Court appointed the Office of the Federal Public Defender as

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counsel for Mr. Azcarate and granted leave for counsel to file an amended petition.

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ECF No. 6. Counsel filed the First Amended Petition on May 9, 2018. ECF No. 14.

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Respondents filed an Answer to the Petition on November 13, 2020. ECF No. 50.

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3.

Petitioner’s Reply to the Answer is currently due December 28, 2020.

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Mr. Azcarate now requests an additional sixty (60) days, up to and including

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February 26, 2021, to file the Reply. This is the first request for an extension of

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time.

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4.

The additional period of time is necessary in order to effectively

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represent Mr. Azcarate. This motion is filed in the interests of justice and not for

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the purposes of unnecessary delay.

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5.

Counsel’s busy schedule necessitates this request. On November 23,

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2020, counsel filed a Third Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in Miller v.

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Olsen, case no. 3:19-cv-00673-MMD-WGC. On November 24, 2020, counsel filed an

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Emergency Motion for Release Pending Decision Due to Risks of Infection by

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COVID-19 in Barron-Aguilar v. Olsen, case no. 3:17-cv-00548-MMD-CLB. Counsel

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also filed an Opposition to Motion to Dismiss on December 7th, and Rely in Support

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of Emergency Motion for Release on December 14th in that same case. On November

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25, 2020 counsel filed a Petition for Rehearing with the Ninth Circuit in Tiffany v.

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LeGrand, case no. 19-15796. On December 1, 2020, counsel filed a First Amended

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Petition, and Request for Leave to File Second Amended Petition in Patterson v.
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Case 2:17-cv-02190-RFB-EJY Document 52 Filed 12/21/20 Page 3 of 4

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Johnson, case no. 2:20-cv-01614-JAD-DJA. On December 14, 2020 counsel filed a

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Reply to Answer to First Amended Petition in Gonzalas v. Williams, case no. 2:17-

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cv-01653-RFB-EJY. And on December 21, 2020 counsel filed a Reply to Answer to

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First Amended Petition in Dryden v. Williams, case no. 2:17-cv-00704-JAD-NJK.

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Almost all of those deadlines had previously been extended at least once, or were

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otherwise time sensitive (e.g. the Emergency Motion for Release was based on an

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outbreak of COVID-19 in the prison where Mr. Barron-Aguilar is currently being

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held). Counsel also has nearly a dozen other filing deadlines in the next six weeks,

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including several that cannot be extended (including an AEDPA statutory deadline

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in early January).
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Finally, counsel’s office will be closed for several days, and counsel will

be taking extra time off, for the upcoming holidays.
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On December 21, 2020, Deputy Attorney Geordan Goebel was

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contacted via email about this request and stated that he did not object to the

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extension, but the lack of objection should not be construed as a waiver of any

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procedural defenses.

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8.

For the above-stated reasons, Petitioner respectfully requests this

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Court grant the request for an extension of time of sixty (60) days and order the

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Reply to Respondents’ Answer to First Amended Petition be filed on or before

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February 26, 2021.

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Case 2:17-cv-02190-RFB-EJY Document 52 Filed 12/21/20 Page 4 of 4

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Dated this 21st day of December, 2020.

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Respectfully submitted,

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Rene L. Valladares
Federal Public Defender

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/s/ CB Kirschner
C.B. Kirschner
Assistant Federal Public Defender

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IT IS SO ORDERED:

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____________________________________
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE
JUDGE

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DATED: December 21, 2020

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