Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_07-cv-01575/USCOURTS-cand-4_07-cv-01575-3/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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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 STAYING HABEAS

PROCEEDINGS; DIRECTING

PETITIONER TO FILE QUARTERLY

STATUS REPORTS; AND DIRECTING

CLERK TO ADMINISTRATIVELY

CLOSE THIS CASE UNTIL THE COURT

ISSUES ORDER LIFTING STAY

Petitioner Kendra D. Bernard, a prisoner of the State of California who is incarcerated at

Valley State Prison for Women, 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 appeared to be

requesting additional time to file a federal habeas corpus petition. 

In an Order dated May 22, 2007, the Court directed Petitioner to file a completed 28 U.S.C.

§ 2254 habeas petition form within thirty-days from the date of the Order.

On June 7, 2007, Petitioner filed a motion for an extension of time to file a completed § 2254

habeas petition form (docket no. 16). On June 11, 2007, Petitioner filed another document entitled

"Motion to Submit Order Denying Transcript from Superior Court" (docket no. 17). In that motion,

Petitioner requests "an additional 30 days to try and resolve this matter due to the denial of

transcripts." (June 11, 2007 Mot. at 2.) Therefore, the Court construes her motion as another

motion for an extension of time to file a completed § 2254 habeas petition form.

On June 28, 2007, Petitioner filed a pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28

U.S.C. § 2254 in which she challenges the validity of her 2004 state conviction. Petitioner also

seeks leave to proceed in forma pauperis. 

According to the allegations in the petition, a jury found Petitioner guilty of murder. In

2004, she was sentenced to twenty-five years to life in prison. 

Case 4:07-cv-01575-SBA Document 31 Filed 03/19/08 Page 1 of 5
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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The California Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment of conviction in 2005, and the

California Supreme Court denied review in 2006. 

On June 28, 2007, Petitioner filed a document entitled "Motion to Toll Federal Time for Writ

of Habeas Corpus" (docket no. 22) requesting that the Court stay these habeas proceedings so that

Petitioner may exhaust her claims in state court. In that motion, Petitioner states that her state

habeas petition is still pending in the state superior court.

The Ninth Circuit has held unequivocally that the exhaustion requirement is not satisfied if

there is a pending proceeding in state court, even if the issue the petitioner seeks to raise in federal

court has been finally determined by the highest available state court. See Sherwood v. Tomkins,

716 F.2d 632, 634 (9th Cir. 1983). This is because the pending state action might result in reversal

of the conviction on some other ground, mooting the federal case. See id. In Sherwood a direct

appeal was pending although the federal issues had been decided by the state courts via another

procedural route. Although the Younger abstention might seem a better rationale for this

requirement than exhaustion, see Phillips v. Vasquez, 56 F.3d 1030, 1038-39 (9th Cir. 1995)

(concurring opinion), the requirement is nevertheless well-established in this circuit. 

The petition must be dismissed without prejudice to refiling it when no further proceedings

are pending in state court. See Sherwood, 716 F.2d at 634 (if a state court action is pending, the

petitioner's claims are not exhausted). However, as mentioned above, Petitioner requests a stay of

these proceedings while she exhausts her state court remedies. This is Petitioner's first habeas

petition and there is no evidence that she seeks the stay for improper purposes. See Fetterly v.

Paskett, 997 F.2d 1295, 1301-02 (9th Cir. 1993) (holding that a stay for the purpose of permitting

exhaustion of unexhausted claims should be granted only if the claims petitioner seeks to pursue are

cognizable under § 2254; there is a likelihood of prejudice to petitioner if the stay is not granted; and

there is no evidence that the motion for a stay is brought to delay, vex, or harass, or that the request

is an abuse of the writ). Therefore, instead of dismissing this action, the Court GRANTS Petitioner's

request (docket no. 22). 

Case 4:07-cv-01575-SBA Document 31 Filed 03/19/08 Page 2 of 5
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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28 P:\PRO-SE\SBA\HC.07\Bernard1575.grantSTAY+pendMOTS.wpd 3

CONCLUSION

1. Petitioner's application to proceed in forma pauperis (docket no. 21) is GRANTED. 

2. Petitioner's motion to stay (docket no. 22) is GRANTED. These proceedings are

hereby STAYED pending Petitioner's exhaustion of her state judicial remedies. Petitioner must act

diligently in exhausting her state judicial remedies, or the stay may be lifted. Petitioner must file

quarterly reports describing the progress of her state court proceedings, commencing thirty (30)

days from the date of this Order and continuing every ninety (90) days thereafter until her state

court proceedings are terminated. She must also attach to her status reports copies of the cover page

of any document that she files with or receives from the state courts relating to her state habeas

petitions.

3. The Clerk of the Court shall ADMINISTRATIVELY CLOSE the file pending the

stay of this action. Nothing further will take place in this action until Petitioner receives a final

decision from the highest state court available to review the claims in her state habeas petition and,

within thirty (30) days of doing so, moves to reopen the action, lift the Court's stay and amend the

stayed petition to add the newly-exhausted claims. 

4. Petitioner's motions for an extension of time to file a completed § 2254 habeas

petition form (docket nos. 16, 17) are GRANTED. The time in which Petitioner may file a

completed § 2254 habeas petition form will be extended nunc pro tunc to June 28, 2007, the date

that Petitioner's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus was filed.

5. This Order terminates Docket nos. 16, 17, 21 and 22.

Case 4:07-cv-01575-SBA Document 31 Filed 03/19/08 Page 3 of 5
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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28 P:\PRO-SE\SBA\HC.07\Bernard1575.grantSTAY+pendMOTS.wpd 4

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED:3/18/08 

SAUNDRA BROWN ARMSTRONG

United States District Judge

Case 4:07-cv-01575-SBA Document 31 Filed 03/19/08 Page 4 of 5
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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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 March 19, 2008, 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-1-12-4-UP

Chowchilla, CA 93610-0096

Dated: March 19, 2008

Richard W. Wieking, Clerk

By: LISA R CLARK, Deputy Clerk

Case 4:07-cv-01575-SBA Document 31 Filed 03/19/08 Page 5 of 5