Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_07-cv-01575/USCOURTS-cand-4_07-cv-01575-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 530
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Petitions - Habeas Corpus
Cause of Action: 28:2254 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (State)

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

KENDRA D. BERNARD,

Petitioner,

 v.

TINA HORNBEAK, Acting Warden,

Respondent. /

No. C 07-01575 SBA (PR)

ORDER DIRECTING PETITIONER TO

FILE COMPLETED 28 U.S.C. § 2254

HABEAS PETITION FORM

Petitioner, a prisoner of the State of California, filed a document with this Court on March

19, 2007, captioned "Motion to Toll Time for Writ of Habeas Corpus" dated March 12, 2007 in

which she appears to be requesting additional time to file a federal habeas corpus petition. Attached

to the motion is a letter from Petitioner to the Clerk of the Court, which states that she is "preparing

a state habeas corpus [petition], which needs to be submitted before [her] federal habeas [petition],

so that [she] may exhaust all state remedies first."

It appears that Petitioner is attempting to seek a stay to file a federal habeas petition to avoid

missing the one year statute of limitations set forth at 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d). Such stays are only

granted in limited circumstances, however. See Fetterly v. Paskett, 997 F.2d 1295, 1301-02 (9th Cir.

1993), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 914 (1994) (court may stay, rather than dismiss, a valid petition

containing only exhausted claims to give the petitioner time to exhaust newly-discovered claims in

state court); Calderon v. United States Dist. Court (Taylor), 134 F.3d 981, 989 (9th Cir. 1998)

(where petition contains both exhausted and unexhausted claims, court may grant leave to amend to

delete unexhausted claims, then stay the petition pending exhaustion with the intention of allowing

an amendment after exhaustion to add the now-exhausted claims). The decision to grant a stay in

order to avoid exceeding the limitations period is within the discretion of the district court. Valerio

v. Crawford, 306 F.3d 742, 771 (9th Cir. 2002) (en banc). 

The Court's docket reveals that Petitioner has never filed a federal habeas petition in this or

any other federal district court. As such, she has no federal habeas corpus petition pending for a

court to stay. Without an actual petition, this action cannot proceed. 

Case 4:07-cv-01575-SBA Document 12 Filed 05/23/07 Page 1 of 3
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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 Petitioner has listed "Warden" as a Respondent. She is currently incarcerated at the Valley

State Prison for Women (VSPW); therefore, the Court substitutes Tina Hornbeak, Acting Warden at

VSPW, as Respondent in place of "Warden."

P:\PRO-SE\SBA\HC.07\Bernard1575.DWLA-stay.wpd 2

No later than thirty (30) days from the date of this Order, Petitioner shall file with the Court

the attached 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition form, completed in full, including the state postconviction relief she has sought and any claims she seeks to raise in federal court. She shall also

clarify whether she is indeed attempting to seek a stay, and if she is, identify any reasons in support

of such a request. Finally, she should clearly write in the correct caption and case number for this

action, Kendra D. Bernard v. Tina Hornbeak, Acting Warden, Case No. C 07-01575 SBA (PR), on

the form.1

If Petitioner fails to file a completed § 2254 habeas petition form within the thirty-day

deadline, the above-referenced motion will be denied and the case will be closed for failure to

prosecute under Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Link v. Wabash R.R., 370

U.S. 626, 633 (1962) (pursuant to Rule 41(b), a district court may sua sponte dismiss an action for

failure to prosecute or to comply with a court order); see also Malone v. United States Postal Serv.,

833 F.2d 128, 133 (9th Cir. 1987) (the district court should afford the litigant prior notice before

dismissing for failure to prosecute). 

The Clerk of the Court shall send Petitioner a blank § 2254 habeas petition form. The Clerk

is directed to substitute Tina Hornbeak, Acting Warden at the Valley State Prison for Women, as

Respondent in place of "Warden."

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: 5/22/07 

SAUNDRA BROWN ARMSTRONG

United States District Judge

Case 4:07-cv-01575-SBA Document 12 Filed 05/23/07 Page 2 of 3
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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P:\PRO-SE\SBA\HC.07\Bernard1575.DWLA-stay.wpd 3

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

KENDRA D. BERNARD,

Plaintiff,

 v.

WARDEN et al,

Defendant. /

Case Number: CV07-01575 SBA 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am an employee in the Office of the Clerk, U.S. District

Court, Northern District of California.

That on May 23, 2007, I SERVED a true and correct copy(ies) of the attached, by placing said

copy(ies) in a postage paid envelope addressed to the person(s) hereinafter listed, by depositing said

envelope in the U.S. Mail, or by placing said copy(ies) into an inter-office delivery receptacle located

in the Clerk's office.

Kendra D. Bernard X06773

Valley State Prison for Women

P.O. Box 96 C-1-29-4-UP

Chowchilla, CA 93610-0096

Dated: May 23, 2007

Richard W. Wieking, Clerk

By: LISA R CLARK, Deputy Clerk

Case 4:07-cv-01575-SBA Document 12 Filed 05/23/07 Page 3 of 3