BAADHIO v. STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Filing
7
OPINION filed. Signed by Judge Mary L. Cooper on 9/9/2011. (eaj)
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
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RANDY BAADHIO,
Petitioner,
v.
STATE OF NEW JERSEY,
Respondent.
Civil Action No. 11-1235 (MLC)
O P I N I O N
COOPER, District Judge
Petitioner, Randy Baadhio, filed a Petition for a Writ of
Error Coram Nobis challenging a 2005 criminal conviction in New
Jersey Superior Court, Mercer County.
Based on his affidavit of
indigence, the Court will grant Plaintiff’s application to
proceed in forma pauperis and order the Clerk of the Court to
file the Petition.
For the reasons stated below, this Court will
summarily dismiss the Petition for lack of jurisdiction and deny
a certificate of appealability.
I.
BACKGROUND
Though it is not entirely clear, it appears that Petitioner
is requesting that this Court grant a writ of error coram nobis
with respect to a 2005 conviction in New Jersey state court.
Petitioner alleges that at the time he entered into the plea
agreement for said conviction, he was suffering from AIDS-related
dementia and was addicted to and under the influence of the drug
Percocet.
Petitioner alleges that during the criminal
proceedings, he informed both the Judge and counsel of his
condition and repeatedly asked for a competency hearing.
at 7.)
However, his requests went unanswered.
(Id.)
(Pet.
It
appears, but is not clear from the Petition, that at some point
in 2005, Petitioner entered into a plea agreement resulting in
Petitioner serving eighty percent of an eight year term.
Petitioner does not provide any further details as to the
conviction.
Petitioner now asks this Court to grant a writ of
error coram nobis as to the 2005 New Jersey State Court
conviction.
II.
DISCUSSION
“In federal courts the authority to grant a writ of coram
nobis is conferred by the All Writs Act, which permits ‘courts
established by Act of Congress’ to issue ‘all writs necessary or
appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions.’”
United
States v. Denedo, 129 S.Ct. 2213, 2221 (2009) (quoting 28 U.S.C.
§ 1651(a)).
Moreover, “[b]ecause coram nobis is but an
extraordinary tool to correct a legal or factual error, an
application for the writ is properly viewed as a belated
extension of the original proceeding during which the error
allegedly transpired.”
Id.
This Court lacks subject matter
jurisdiction to issue a writ of coram nobis in this case,
however, because “coram nobis is not available in a federal court
as a means of attack on a state criminal judgment.”
2
Obado v. New
Jersey, 328 F.3d 716, 718 (3d Cir. 2003); accord Finkelstein v.
Spitzer, 455 F.3d 131, 134 (2d Cir. 2006); Lowery v. McCaughtry,
954 F.2d 422, 423 (7th Cir. 1992).
This Court will not construe
the Petition as one for a writ of habeas corpus as Petitioner
specifically states that he does not intend for it to be so
construed.
(Docket Entry No. 2-1.)
Further, even if this Court
were to construe the Petition as one for a writ of habeas corpus,
this Court lacks jurisdiction because it appears that Petitioner
was not “in custody” under the challenged state conviction at the
time he filed the Petition.
See Obado, 328 F.3d at 717-18.
III. CONCLUSION
Based on the foregoing, this Court will dismiss the Petition
for lack of jurisdiction and deny a certificate of appealability.
This Court will issue an appropriate order and judgment.
s/ Mary L. Cooper
MARY L. COOPER
United States District Judge
Dated:
September 9, 2011
3
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