Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_07-cv-01362/USCOURTS-azd-2_07-cv-01362-0/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 RP

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Robert Ritchie, 

Petitioner, 

vs.

Ivan Bartos, et al.,

Respondents. 

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No. CV 07-1362-PHX-SMM (DKD)

ORDER

Petitioner Robert Ritchie, who is confined in the Arizona State Prison ComplexLewis, has filed a second pro se Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

§ 2254 (Second Petition) and an Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis. The Court will

dismiss the Second Petition and this action without prejudice.

I. Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis

Petitioner’s Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis indicates that his inmate trust

account balance is less than $25.00. Accordingly, the Application to Proceed In Forma

Pauperis will be granted. See LRCiv 3.5(b).

II. Second Petition

In his Second Petition, Petitioner challenges his November 18, 1997 judgment of

conviction for theft and fraudulent schemes entered in the Maricopa County Superior Court

in matter #CR 96-12943. Petitioner names Ivan Bartos as Respondent and the Arizona

Attorney General of the State of Arizona as an additional Respondent. Petitioner raises only

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one ground for relief.

Petitioner has not filled in the section of the court-approved form that asks if this is

Petitioner’s first federal petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging this conviction, and

if it is not, whether the prior petition was denied, and whether the Ninth Circuit Court of

Appeals has granted permission to file a successive petition. A search of this Court's docket

reveals that Petitioner filed a previous pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to

28 U.S.C. § 2254 in this Court on April 17, 2002 (First Petition), case number of CV 02-719-

PHX-SMM. In this First Petition, Petitioner also challenged his judgment of conviction in

the Maricopa County Superior Court in matter #CR 96-12943.

By Order filed November 10, 2003 (Doc. #35 in CV 02-719-PHX-SMM), the Court

adopted United States Magistrate Judge David K. Duncan's Report and Recommendation

(Doc. #33) that the First Petition be denied and dismissed with prejudice, and denied the First

Petition, terminating the case. Judgment was entered on November 10, 2003 (Doc. #36).

On November 21, 2003, Petitioner filed a Notice of Appeal, and on May 25, 2004 the

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Petitioner's request for a certificate of appealability.

III. Dismissal of Second Petition

Under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(A), as amended by the Antiterrorism and Effective

Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), before a second or successive 28 U.S.C. § 2254

petition may be filed in the district court, a petitioner must first obtain an order from the

United States Court of Appeals authorizing the district court to consider the petition. The

Court of Appeals will not issue an order authorizing a successive petition unless the petition

meets the requirements of 28 U.S.C. §§ 2244(b)(A) and (B). 

On February 15, 2007, Petitioner applied to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for

leave to file a second or successive petition regarding his conviction and sentence in #CR 96-

12943. By Order filed April 6, 2007, the Ninth Circuit denied his application (Doc. #48 in

CV 02-719-PHX-SMM). Accordingly, the Second Petition, as well as this action will be

dismissed. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED:

(1) Petitioner’s Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis, filed with the Second

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Petition, is granted.

(2) Petitioner's Second Petition (Doc. #1) and this action are dismissed and the

Clerk of Court must enter judgment accordingly.

DATED this 30th day of July, 2007.

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