Fields v. LeGrand et al

Filing 5

ORDERED that the Clerk shall FILE and E- SERVE the petition #'s 1 -2, 1 -3) on the Rs. FURTHER ORD that Rs' answer/response to petition due by 8/5/2011. If an answer is filed, P shall have 45 days from the date of service of the answer to file a reply. FURTHER ORD that, henceforth, P shall serve AG a copy of every document he submits for consideration, with a certificate of service. FURTHER ORD that the Clerk shall DETACH and FILE P's motion for appointment of counsel (# 1 -4). FURTHER ORD that P's motion for appointment of counsel is DENIED without prejudice. ( E-service upon AG, and copy of filed petition mailed to P on 6/21/2011 ) Signed by Judge Larry R. Hicks on 6/20/2011. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - DRM)

Download PDF
1 2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 8 9 MATTHEW ARTHUR FIELDS, 10 11 Petitioner, vs. 12 ROBERT LEGRAND, et al., 13 Respondents. 14 15 16 17 18 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) / 3:11-cv-00341-LRH-RAM ORDER Matthew Arthur Fields, a Nevada prisoner, has submitted a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (docket #s 1-2, 1-3). Petitioner has now paid the filing fee (see docket #4). Therefore, the habeas petition shall be filed and docketed, and it shall be served upon the respondents. 19 A petition for federal habeas corpus should include all claims for relief of which petitioner is 20 aware. If petitioner fails to include such a claim in his petition, he may be forever barred from seeking 21 federal habeas relief upon that claim. See 28 U.S.C. §2254(b) (successive petitions). If petitioner is 22 aware of any claim not included in his petition, he should notify the court of that as soon as possible, 23 perhaps by means of a motion to amend his petition to add the claim. 24 Petitioner has also submitted a motion for the appointment of counsel (docket #1-4). There is no 25 constitutional right to appointed counsel for a federal habeas corpus proceeding. Pennsylvania v. Finley, 26 481 U.S. 551, 555 (1987); Bonin v. Vasquez, 999 F.2d 425, 428 (9th Cir.1993). The decision to appoint 27 counsel is generally discretionary. Chaney v. Lewis, 801 F.2d 1191, 1196 (9th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 28 481 U.S. 1023 (1987); Bashor v. Risley, 730 F.2d 1228, 1234 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 838 1 (1984). However, counsel must be appointed if the complexities of the case are such that denial of 2 counsel would amount to a denial of due process, and where the petitioner is a person of such limited 3 education as to be incapable of fairly presenting his claims. See Chaney, 801 F.2d at 1196; see also 4 Hawkins v. Bennett, 423 F.2d 948 (8th Cir.1970). The petition in this action appears sufficiently clear 5 in presenting the issues that petitioner wishes to raise. Counsel is not justified at this time. The motion 6 is denied without prejudice. 7 8 IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Clerk shall FILE and ELECTRONICALLY SERVE the petition (docket #s 1-2, 1-3) on the respondents. 9 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that respondents shall have forty-five (45) days from entry of 10 this order within which to answer, or otherwise respond to, the petition. In their answer or other 11 response, respondents shall address any claims presented by petitioner in his petition as well as any 12 claims presented by petitioner in any Statement of Additional Claims. Respondents shall raise all 13 potential affirmative defenses in the initial responsive pleading, including lack of exhaustion and 14 procedural default. Successive motions to dismiss will not be entertained. If an answer is filed, 15 respondents shall comply with the requirements of Rule 5 of the Rules Governing Proceedings in the 16 United States District Courts under 28 U.S.C. §2254. If an answer is filed, petitioner shall have forty- 17 five (45) days from the date of service of the answer to file a reply. 18 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, henceforth, petitioner shall serve upon the Attorney General 19 of the State of Nevada a copy of every pleading, motion, or other document he submits for consideration 20 by the court. Petitioner shall include with the original paper submitted for filing a certificate stating the 21 date that a true and correct copy of the document was mailed to the Attorney General. The court may 22 disregard any paper that does not include a certificate of service. After respondents appear in this action, 23 petitioner shall make such service upon the particular Deputy Attorney General assigned to the case. 24 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk shall DETACH and FILE petitioner’s motion for 25 appointment of counsel (docket #1-4). 26 /// 27 /// 28 2 1 2 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that petitioner’s motion for appointment of counsel (docket #1-4) is DENIED without prejudice. 3 4 DATED this 20th day of June, 2011. 5 6 7 ___________________________________ LARRY R. HICKS UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 3

Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.


Why Is My Information Online?