Dominquez v. Baker et al

Filing 3

ORDER granting ECF No. 1 IFP application; directing Clerk to file and e-serve petition on Respondents (NV AG added, NEF sent 4/11/2017); directing Clerk to detach ECF No. 1 -3 Motion for Appointment of Counsel and granting the motion, appo inting FPD to represent Petitioner; directing Clerk to e-serve FPD copies of this order and the petition (FPD added, NEFs sent 4/11/2017); giving FPD 30 days to file notice of appearance or indicate its inability to do so. Signed by Judge Howard D. McKibben on 4/10/2017. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - KR)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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***

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DAVID SANCHEZ DOMINGUEZ,

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Case No. 3:17-cv-00053-HDM-WGC

Petitioner,

ORDER

v.
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RENEE BAKER, et al.,
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Respondents.
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Petitioner David Sanchez Dominguez has submitted a pro se petition for writ of

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habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. His application to proceed in forma

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pauperis (ECF No. 1) shall be granted. The court has reviewed the petition pursuant to

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Habeas Rule 4, and it shall be docketed and served on respondents.

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A petition for federal habeas corpus should include all claims for relief of which
petitioner is aware. If petitioner fails to include such a claim in his petition, he may be

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forever barred from seeking federal habeas relief upon that claim. See 28 U.S.C.
§2254(b) (successive petitions). If petitioner is aware of any claim not included in his

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petition, he should notify the court of that as soon as possible, perhaps by means of a

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motion to amend his petition to add the claim.

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Petitioner has also submitted a motion for appointment of counsel (ECF No. 1-2).
There is no constitutional right to appointed counsel for a federal habeas corpus
proceeding. Pennsylvania v. Finley, 481 U.S. 551, 555 (1987); Bonin v. Vasquez, 999

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F.2d 425, 428 (9th Cir.1993). The decision to appoint counsel is generally
discretionary. Chaney v. Lewis, 801 F.2d 1191, 1196 (9th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 481
U.S. 1023 (1987); Bashor v. Risley, 730 F.2d 1228, 1234 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 469

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U.S. 838 (1984). However, counsel must be appointed if the complexities of the case
are such that denial of counsel would amount to a denial of due process, and where the

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petitioner is a person of such limited education as to be incapable of fairly presenting his

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claims. See Chaney, 801 F.2d at 1196; see also Hawkins v. Bennett, 423 F.2d 948 (8th

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Cir.1970). Here, Dominguez is serving a sentence of life without the possibility of

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parole, and the legal issues he wishes to raise may be complex. Therefore,

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Dominguez’s motion for counsel shall be granted.
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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that petitioner’s application to proceed in forma
pauperis (ECF No. 1) is GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk shall file and ELECTRONICALLY
SERVE the petition (ECF No. 1-1) on the respondents.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk shall add Adam Paul Laxalt, Nevada
Attorney General, as counsel for respondents.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk shall detach petitioner’s motion for
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appointment of counsel (ECF No. 1-3).
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that petitioner’s motion for appointment of counsel is
GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Federal Public Defender for the District of
Nevada (FPD) is appointed to represent petitioner.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk shall ELECTRONICALLY SERVE the

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FPD a copy of this order, together with a copy of the petition for writ of habeas corpus
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(ECF No. 1-1). The FPD shall have thirty (30) days from the date of entry of this order
to file a notice of appearance or to indicate to the court its inability to represent
petitioner in these proceedings.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that after counsel has appeared for petitioner in this
case, the court will issue a scheduling order, which will, among other things, set a
deadline for the filing of an amended petition.
DATED: April 10, 2017.

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HOWARD D. MCKIBBEN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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