Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_05-cv-02436/USCOURTS-azd-2_05-cv-02436-0/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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WO

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Ronnie Howell Lynch, 

Petitioner, 

vs.

Dora B. Schriro; Arizona Attorney

General, 

Respondents.

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No. CIV 05-2436 PHX-DGC (DKD)

ORDER

Currently pending before the Court is Petitioner Ronnie Lynch's Motion to Amend,

filed September 1, 2005 (Doc. #10). He seeks to include in his amended habeas petition the

Blakely claim presented in two state post-conviction petitions, both denied by the trial court,

the most recent on August 11, 2005, the day before he filed his federal petition. Lynch

previously requested a stay of these habeas proceedings, pending the amendment to include

this claim. The district court denied the motion, finding that "[e]ven if the unexhausted claim

were added in an amended petition, the Court would not grant a stay" (Doc. #6 at 2). The

Court concluded that Lynch's Blakely claim is not "potentially meritorious" because his

conviction became final long before Blakely was decided, and it could not be applied

retroactively, citing Schardt v. Payne, 414 F.3d 1025 (9th Cir. 2005). Any attempt to amend

his petition to include this claim would therefore be futile.

Case 2:05-cv-02436-DGC Document 14 Filed 11/08/05 Page 1 of 2
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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED DENYING Petitioner Ronnie Lynch's Motion to

Amend (Doc. #10). 

DATED this 8th day of November, 2005.

Case 2:05-cv-02436-DGC Document 14 Filed 11/08/05 Page 2 of 2